Identification of differentially expressed microRNAs in Sahiwal (Bos indicus) breed of cattle during thermal stress

microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that play key roles in post transcriptional gene regulation that influence various fundamental cellular processes, including the cellular responses during environmental stresses. However, perusal of literatures revealed few reports on the differential expression of miRNA during thermal stress in Indian native (Bos indicus) cattle breeds. The present investigation aimed to identify differentially expressed miRNAs during thermal stress in Sahiwal (Bos indicus) dairy cattle breed of India, adapted with tropical climate over a long period of time. Stress responses of the animals were characterized by determining various physiological as well as biochemical parameters and differential expression profile of major heat shock protein genes. Ion Torrent deep sequencing and CLC-genomic analysis identified a set of differentially expressed miRNAs during summer and winter seasons. Most of the identified differentially expressed miRNAs were found to target heat shock responsive genes especially members of heat shock protein (HSP) family. Real-time quantification-based analysis of selected miRNAs revealed that bta-mir-1248, bta-mir-2332, bta-mir-2478, and bta-mir-1839 were significantly (p < 0.01) over expressed while bta-mir-16a, bta-let-7b, bta-mir-142, and bta-mir-425 were significantly (p < 0.01) under expressed during summer in comparison to winter. The present study enlists differentially expressed miRNAs at different environmental temperatures in Sahiwal (Bos indicus) that may be importance for further understanding the role of miRNAs on thermo-regulatory mechanisms.