Overexpression of the QKI Gene Promotes Differentiation of Goat Myoblasts into Myotubes

The genes encode RNA-binding proteins regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The Goat has six isoforms, but their roles in myogenesis are unclear. In this study, the six isoforms of the gene were overexpressed in goat myoblast. Immunofluorescence, qPCR and Western blot were used to evaluate the effect of on the differentiation of goat myoblast. An RNA-Seq was performed on the cells with the gain of the function from the major isoforms to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The results show that six isoforms had different degrees of deletion in exons 6 and 7, and caused the appearance of different types of encoded amino acids. The expression levels of the and groups were upregulated in the biceps femoris and latissimus dorsi muscle tissues compared with those of the , , and groups. After 6 d of myoblast differentiation, and the myogenic differentiators , , and were upregulated. Compared to the negative control group, promoted myotube differentiation and the myoblasts overexpressing formed large, abundant myotubes. In summary, we identified that the overexpression of the gene promotes goat-myoblast differentiation and that is the major isoform, with a key role. The RNA-Seq screened 76 upregulated and 123 downregulated DEGs between the negative control and the -overexpressing goat myoblasts after d 6 of differentiation. The GO and KEGG analyses associated the downregulated DEGs with muscle-related biological functions. Only the pathways related to muscle growth and development were enriched. This study provides a theoretical basis for further exploring the regulatory mechanism of in skeletal-muscle development in goats.