¹College of Animal Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang, 832000, China
²State Key Laboratory of Sheep Genetic Improvement and Healthy Production, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Science, Shihezi, Xinjiang, 832000, China DOI : 10.9775/kvfd.2024.32412 Hair follicle development is closely associated with wool traits. Current studies reveal the crucial role of microRNAs in regulating the specific gene expression by binding to target mRNA involution in hair follicle growth and development, thereby regulating the wool traits. Our previous miRNA sequencing showed that oar-miR-377 has special expression in secondary hair follicle development and SLC24A2 may be a new candidate target using bioinformatics analysis. In this study, the regulatory relationship of oarmiR- 377 and its specific target gene SLC24A2 was determined in sheep fibroblasts by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RT-qPCR, and western blot. The variation of oar-miR-377 precursors was detected using PCR and Sanger sequencing, and the association between polymorphisms of oar-miR-377 and wool quality traits was analyzed in Chinese Merino. The result showed that SLC24A2 was a target gene of oar-miR-377. A SNP (276T>C) of oar-miR-377 upstream sequences was identified and extremely significant associated with the coefficient of variation of wool fiber diameter in Chinese Merino sheep (P<0.01). These results suggest that oar-miR-377 promotes secondary hair follicle development by downregulation of SLC24A2 gene expression, and its SNP might be a useful marker for wool quality. Keywords : oar-miR-377, SLC24A2, SNP, Wool traits, Sheep