Extracellular Small RNAs in Breast Milk: Molecular Profiles and Biological Implications

Small RNA sequencing of human and bovine milk revealed abundant tRNA-, yRNA-, and rRNA-derived fragments. These exRNAs were validated and shown to promote cell survival under stress, suggesting a functional role in milk's biological effects. Overall design: Skim milk samples were collected from healthy humans (n=3) and cows (n=3). RNA was extracted and sequenced with Illumina TruSeq Small RNA libraries on a NovaSeq. Reads were quality filtered, aligned to curated sRNA references, and analyzed with custom scripts.