Regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs in minipigs revealed by cross-breed and cross-tissue transcriptomic analyses

Abstract Minipigs are widely used as animal models in biomedical research because they have distinctive advantages, including small body size. However, the regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in shaping their distinct characteristics remain unexplored. In this study, we performed a co...

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Main Authors: Suyeon Wy, Heesun Kim, Minji Gu, Junyoung Kim, Hyeonji Kim, Jiyeong Ahn, Daehong Kwon, Woncheoul Park, Jaebum Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09005-y
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author Suyeon Wy
Heesun Kim
Minji Gu
Junyoung Kim
Hyeonji Kim
Jiyeong Ahn
Daehong Kwon
Woncheoul Park
Jaebum Kim
author_facet Suyeon Wy
Heesun Kim
Minji Gu
Junyoung Kim
Hyeonji Kim
Jiyeong Ahn
Daehong Kwon
Woncheoul Park
Jaebum Kim
author_sort Suyeon Wy
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Minipigs are widely used as animal models in biomedical research because they have distinctive advantages, including small body size. However, the regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in shaping their distinct characteristics remain unexplored. In this study, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis of five tissues (heart, kidney, liver, lung, and spleen) from three breeds of minipig (ET-type, L-type, and Bama minipigs) and two breeds of pig (Duroc and Landrace). We identified 5,288 lncRNAs and found that their expression patterns distinguished breeds more prominently than protein-coding genes, suggesting the existence of different evolutionary constraints between them. Based on differential expression analyses, we identified tissue-common lncRNAs (tcDELs) that exhibited consistent expression differences between minipigs and pigs, as well as tissue-specific lncRNAs (tsDELs) with unique expression patterns in individual minipig tissues. Expression correlation analysis and functional enrichment of associated protein-coding genes revealed that these lncRNAs are involved in a wide range of biological processes. Notably, tcDELs were linked to pathways related to organ size and gene regulation across tissues, while tsDELs were associated with physiological functions specific to each tissue. These findings demonstrate that lncRNAs may contribute to both tissue-common and tissue-specific traits in minipigs, reinforcing their utility as animal models.
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spelling doaj-art-67859cfd85ea4e83b27b6f01cd057cf82025-08-20T03:37:27ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-09005-yRegulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs in minipigs revealed by cross-breed and cross-tissue transcriptomic analysesSuyeon Wy0Heesun Kim1Minji Gu2Junyoung Kim3Hyeonji Kim4Jiyeong Ahn5Daehong Kwon6Woncheoul Park7Jaebum Kim8Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Konkuk UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Konkuk UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Konkuk UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Konkuk UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Konkuk UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Konkuk UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Konkuk UniversityAnimal Genetics & Breeding Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDADepartment of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Konkuk UniversityAbstract Minipigs are widely used as animal models in biomedical research because they have distinctive advantages, including small body size. However, the regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in shaping their distinct characteristics remain unexplored. In this study, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis of five tissues (heart, kidney, liver, lung, and spleen) from three breeds of minipig (ET-type, L-type, and Bama minipigs) and two breeds of pig (Duroc and Landrace). We identified 5,288 lncRNAs and found that their expression patterns distinguished breeds more prominently than protein-coding genes, suggesting the existence of different evolutionary constraints between them. Based on differential expression analyses, we identified tissue-common lncRNAs (tcDELs) that exhibited consistent expression differences between minipigs and pigs, as well as tissue-specific lncRNAs (tsDELs) with unique expression patterns in individual minipig tissues. Expression correlation analysis and functional enrichment of associated protein-coding genes revealed that these lncRNAs are involved in a wide range of biological processes. Notably, tcDELs were linked to pathways related to organ size and gene regulation across tissues, while tsDELs were associated with physiological functions specific to each tissue. These findings demonstrate that lncRNAs may contribute to both tissue-common and tissue-specific traits in minipigs, reinforcing their utility as animal models.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09005-yComparative transcriptomic analysisCross-breed analysisCross-tissue analysisLong non-coding RNAMinipig
spellingShingle Suyeon Wy
Heesun Kim
Minji Gu
Junyoung Kim
Hyeonji Kim
Jiyeong Ahn
Daehong Kwon
Woncheoul Park
Jaebum Kim
Regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs in minipigs revealed by cross-breed and cross-tissue transcriptomic analyses
Scientific Reports
Comparative transcriptomic analysis
Cross-breed analysis
Cross-tissue analysis
Long non-coding RNA
Minipig
title Regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs in minipigs revealed by cross-breed and cross-tissue transcriptomic analyses
title_full Regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs in minipigs revealed by cross-breed and cross-tissue transcriptomic analyses
title_fullStr Regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs in minipigs revealed by cross-breed and cross-tissue transcriptomic analyses
title_full_unstemmed Regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs in minipigs revealed by cross-breed and cross-tissue transcriptomic analyses
title_short Regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs in minipigs revealed by cross-breed and cross-tissue transcriptomic analyses
title_sort regulatory roles of long non coding rnas in minipigs revealed by cross breed and cross tissue transcriptomic analyses
topic Comparative transcriptomic analysis
Cross-breed analysis
Cross-tissue analysis
Long non-coding RNA
Minipig
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09005-y
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