%0 Journal Article %T A systematic analysis of the skeletal muscle miRNA transcriptome of chicken varieties with divergent skeletal muscle growth identifies novel miRNAs and differentially expressed miRNAs %A Tingting Li %A Rimao Wu %A Yong Zhang %A Dahai Zhu %J BMC Genomics %D 2011 %I BioMed Central %R 10.1186/1471-2164-12-186 %X Some miRNAs have multiple isoforms and several miRNAs* are present at higher levels than their corresponding miRNAs. Thirty three novel and 189 known chicken miRNAs were identified using computational approaches. Subsequent miRNA transcriptome comparisons and real-time PCR validation experiments revealed 17 miRNAs that were differentially expressed between broilers and layers, and a number of targets of these miRNAs have been implicated in myogenesis regulation. Using integrative miRNA target-prediction and network-analysis approaches an interaction network of differentially expressed and muscle-related miRNAs and their putative targets was constructed, and miRNAs that could contribute to the divergent muscle growth of broiler and layer chickens by targeting the ACVR2B gene were identified, which can causes dramatic increases in muscle mass.The present study provides the first transcriptome profiling-based evaluation of miRNA function during skeletal muscle development in chicken. Systematic predictions aided the identification of potential miRNAs and their targets, which could contribute to divergent muscle growth in broiler and layer chickens. Furthermore, these predictions generated information that can be utilized in further research investigating the involvement of interaction networks, containing miRNAs and their targets, in the regulation of muscle development.Embryonic patterning and organogenesis involve coordinated differentiation, migration, proliferation and programmed cell death in metazoans. These complex cellular and developmental processes rely on precise spatiotemporal networks that regulate transcription factors at multiple levels including mRNA transcription and translation, protein stability and degradation. Recently, evidence has demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are involved in diverse aspects of biology including developmental regulation and the pathogenesis of human diseases [1-4]. miRNAs are small 19-24 nucleotide (nt) regulatory %U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/12/186