m6A mRNA Methylation Analysis Provides Novel Insights into Pigmentation in Sheep Skin

N6-methyladenosine (m(6)A) is the most universal post-transcriptional modification of mRNA which may play important roles in verious species. However, the potential roles of m(6)A in the pigmentation of skin are not completely understood. To explore the role of m6A modification in pigmentation of sheep skin, we used MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq to profile the skin transcriptome in black and white coat color (n=3). Our results showed that an average of 7701 m(6)A peaks were obtained for all samples and the average length was 305.89 bp. The GGACUU sequence was the most enrichment motif and shared in black skin and white skin. The m(6)A peaks were mainly enriched in the CDS, 3'UTR and 5'UTR, especially in CDS region near the stop codon of the transcript. 235 signi?cantly differential peaks were found in black skin vs. white skin. The KEGG signaling pathways of downregulated and upregulated m(6)A peaks were mainly enriched in AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, Viral carcinogenesis, Transcriptional misregulation in cancer, ABC transporters, Basal transcription factors and Thyroid hormone synthesis (P value <0.05). For RNA-seq, 71 differently expressed genes (DEGs) were scanned in black skin vs. white skin. DEGs were significantly enriched in tyrosine metabolism, melanogenesis, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway (P value <0.05). Combined m(6)A-seq and RNA-seq analysis showed that the hyper-up genes and hypo-up genes were both enriched in ErbB signaling pathway (P value <0.05). In conclusion, it provide a basis for further research into the functions of m(6)A methylation modi?cations in pigmentation.

Automated summary

This study explored the role of m6A modification in the pigmentation of sheep skin using MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq analysis. The results showed that m6A was mainly enriched in the CDS, 3'UTR, and 5'UTR regions, and 235 significant differential m6A peaks were found between black and white skin. RNA-seq analysis revealed differentially expressed genes related to tyrosine metabolism, melanogenesis, and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathways. The combined analysis provided a basis for further research on the functions of m6A methylation modifications in pigmentation.