SummaryInsulin‐like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1) is involved in the Hedgehog pathway and has been shown to regulate the RNA stability of several growth‐related target genes. It is located in a quantitative trait locus showing a strong association with traits related to body size in ducks. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) also participates in Hedgehog signaling pathways and has been reported to be associated with organic growth and development. FGFR1‐knockout mice have been shown to have severe postnatal growth defects, including an approximately 50% reduction in body weight and bone mass. Meanwhile, nonsense‐mediated mRNA decay factor (SMG6) can maintain genomic stability, which is associated with organic growth and development. Therefore, we hypothesized that IGF2BP1, FGFR1 and SMG6 genes may play important roles in the growth traits of goats. In this study, the existence of two insertion/deletion (InDel) variants within IGF2BP1, one InDel within FGFR1 and two InDels within SMG6 was verified and their correlation with growth traits was analyzed in 2429 female Shaanbei white cashmere goats. Results showed both the 15 bp InDel in intron 2 and the 5 bp InDel in the 3′ regulatory region within IGF2BP1 were significantly associated with growth traits (P < 0.05) and goats with the combinatorial homozygous insertion genotypes of these two loci had the highest body weight (P = 0.046). The other InDels within FGFR1 and SMG6 were not obviously associated with growth traits (P > 0.05). Therefore, the two InDels in IGF2BP1 were vital mutations affecting goat growth traits.

Sperm-associated antigen 17 (SPAG17) gene encodes a multifunctional cytoplasmic protein, which influences not only reproduction but also skeletal development related body measurement traits, especially body height. Thus, this study aimed to identify crucial insertion-deletion (indel) variations, which influence the body measurement traits of goats in large goat populations (n = 1725). As a result, two intronic indels (14 bp and 17 bp indel) were identified by sequencing. For the two indel loci, the distributions of genotypes and alleles were significantly different between the Shaanbei white cashmere goat (SBWC) and the Hainan black goat (HNBG). In SBWC goats, the different genotypes of the 14 bp indel were markedly associated with goat body height, chest width, body length and chest depth. The genotypes of the 17 bp indel were significantly related to body height and chest width. At the two loci, for all seven analyzed traits of SBWC goat, the growth data of DD homozygotes were the worst, which means that the 14 bp insertion and the 17 bp deletion were beneficial and detrimental variations, respectively. Moreover, the combined genotypes were significantly related to body height and chest width of SBWC goats and ten traits of HNBG. These results suggested that the 14 and 17 bp indels within SPAG17 can be used in goat growth related traits marker-assisted selection breeding, especially body height.

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Although many circular RNAs (circRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been discovered in adipocytes, their precise functions and molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Based on existing circRNA and lncRNA sequencing data of bovine adipocytes, we screened for the differential expression of circFLT1 and lncCCPG1 in preadipocytes and adipocytes and further analyzed their function and regulation during adipogenesis. The overexpression of circFLT1 and lncCCPG1 together facilitated adipocyte differentiation and suppressed proliferation. Computationally, the RNA hybrid showed that circFLT1 and lncCCPG1 had multiple potential binding sites with miR-93. Additionally, luciferase reporting experiments verified that circFLT1 and lncCCPG1 may interact with miR-93. We also demonstrated that overexpressed miR-93 effectively suppresses the expression of lncSLC30A9 . Signaling pathway enrichment analysis, luciferase activity assay, and expression analysis revealed that lncSLC30A9 inhibits proliferation by inhibiting the expression of AKT protein and promotes differentiation by recruiting the FOS protein to the promoter of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ( PPARG ). In sum, our results elucidate the regulatory mechanisms of circFLT1 and lncCCPG1 as miR-93 sponges in bovine adipocytes.

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