Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40745523›Full record

ArticleBMC genomics2025

Integrated analysis of microRNA and mRNA interactions regulating fecundity in the ovaries of two distinct sheep breeds.

Salsabeel Yousuf, Waqar Afzal Malik, Hui Feng, Tianyi Liu, Lingli Xie, Xiangyang Miao

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC genomics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Salsabeel YousufState Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
Waqar Afzal MalikAgricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, 518120, China.
Hui FengState Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
Tianyi LiuState Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
Lingli XieState Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
Xiangyang MiaoState Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China. miaoxy32@163.com.

Funding

Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program NO. ASTIP-IAS05Major Science and Technology Project of New Variety Breeding of Genetically Modified Organisms Nos. 2009ZX08008-004BNational Natural Science Foundation of China No. 31970541
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sheep production is vital to the global agricultural economy, particularly for meat and wool. However, fertility varies significantly among breeds, influenced by genetics, nutrition, and environment. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are crucial post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, binding to target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to inhibit translation or trigger degradation. Despite their importance, little is known about ovary-specific miRNAs and their target genes in high and low fecundity sheep breeds. Here, we investigated miRNA expression profiles in ovarian tissues from Small Tail Han (high fecundity) and Dolang sheep (low fecundity) using miRNA sequencing. The analysis identified 51 significantly differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs), with only nine mapping to the reference genome (including oar-miR-103, oar-miR-16b). We predicted 88,699, 176,629, and 240,753 target mRNAs for these DEmiRNAs from sheep, goat, and cow, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis revealed significant biological processes and signaling pathways potentially associated with fecundity. Subsequently, we constructed a DEmiRNA-mRNA regulatory network, highlighting candidate miRNA-mRNA pairs like chi-miR-130a-3p-WNT2B, oar-miR-103-FSHR, and oar-miR-16b-AMH. These findings provide insights into the potential regulators of sheep fecundity. We further validated these candidate miRNA-mRNA interactions using qRT-PCR to explore their roles in regulating sheep fecundity. Overall, this study utilized miRNA sequencing to analyze ovarian miRNA expression in sheep and identified potential miRNA-mRNA targets associated with fecundity. This lays the foundation for future research on the molecular mechanisms underlying sheep ovarian physiology and improving reproductive traits.

Indexed as

FertilityMicroRNAsOvaryRNA, MessengerAnimalsBreedingFemaleGene Expression ProfilingGene Regulatory NetworksSheepMicroRNAsRNA, MessengerFecunditymiRNAOvaryOvine tissueSheepTranscriptome

Identifiers

PMID40745523
PMCPMC12312324

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.