tRNA-derived fragments from the Sus scrofa tissues provide evidence of their conserved role in mammalian development

The recently discovered group of noncoding RNAs, which are fragments of tRNA molecules (tRFs), has not been fully characterized and its potential functions still require investigation. Porcine tRFs were characterized and compared to mouse and human tRFs. Two tRFs, 5′ 32–33 nt and 3′ 41–42 nt that are derived from the mature tRNAVal(CAC) and tRNAGly(GCC) were detected with the use of bioinformatics and the Northern blot method. The abundance of these tRFs in the case of Sus scrofa is restricted to the ovary and the kidney. The same tRFs were found in human cancer cells and in mouse sperm, circulating blood and its serum. The binding of selected sncRNAs (piRNA, 5’tRFVal(CAC) and miRNA) to the overexpressed PAZ domain of the PIWIL4 protein was also studied. It is noteworthy that porcine 5’tRFVal(CAC) and human 5’tRFVal(CAC)as well as 5’tRFGly(GCC) are bound to the PIWIL4 protein. The potential role of the analyzed tRFs in the development of mammals is also discussed. •The presence of Sus scrofa tRFGly(GCC) and tRFVal(ACA) is restricted to ovary and kidney tissues.•These two porcine tRFs are derived from the same mature tRNA through the splitting of the anticodon loop.•5’tRFGly(GCC) and 5’tRFVal(ACA) occur in other mammalian cells: human cancer and mouse circulating blood, serum and sperm.•Human 5’tRFGly(GCC) as well as human and porcine 5’tRFVal(ACA) interact with the PIWIL4 protein.