SRA

In dairy cows, milk production and composition are affected by numerous factors, including diet. Milk is the body fluid with the highest RNA concentration, including numerous microRNA. These microRNA presence in the different milk compartments is still poorly documented and the effect of feed restriction on milk miRNome has not been described yet. The aim of this study was to describe the effects of feed restrictions of different intensitizes on milk compartment miRNome composition. Two feed restriction trials were performed on lactating dairy cows, one of high intensity and one of moderate intensity. 2 896 mature microRNA were identified in milk, including 1 493 that were already known in bovine specie. Among the 1 095 miRNA that were abundant enough to be informative, 10% were exclusive to one milk compartment and the abundance of 155 varied between compartments, revealing a specific miRNome for each milk fraction. Feed restriction affected differently these miRNome, with microRNA in whole milk and milk extracellular vesicles being the most affected and microRNA in fat globules and exfoliated mammary epithelial cells being relatively or completely unaffected. Target prediction of known microRNA that varied under feed restriction reflected modification of some key pathways for lactation related to milk fat and protein metabolisms, cell cycle and stress responses. These findings open up opportunities for future research on the use of milk miRNA as biomarkers of energy status in dairy cows. Overall design: microRNA profiles of whole milk samples, purified milk fat globules, milk extracellular vesicles and exfoliated mammary epithelial cells in milk, sampled the week before the initiation of a feed restriction and after 5 days of feed restriction, from 16 multiparous mid-lactation Holstein cows, generated by deep sequencing, using Illumina HiSeq 4000