Integrated miRNA-mRNA profiling reveals candidate regulatory relationships associated with high-fat diet-induced muscle lipid deposition in black seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegelii).

Changbo Ma; Wenli Zhao; Yangguang Bao; Qiuting Yang; Liwen Wu; Tingting Zhu; Peng Sun; Qicun Zhou; Min Jin

doi:10.1016/j.cbd.2026.101966

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Integrated miRNA-mRNA profiling reveals candidate regulatory relationships associated with high-fat diet-induced muscle lipid deposition in black seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegelii).

Changbo Ma·Wenli Zhao·Yangguang Bao·Qiuting Yang·Liwen Wu·Tingting Zhu·Peng Sun·Qicun Zhou·Min Jin

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Abstract

High-fat diets are increasingly used in aquaculture due to their protein-sparing effects; however, the post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of fish muscle in response to high-fat diets (HFD) remain unclear. In this study, juvenile black seabream were fed either a normal-fat diet (NFD) or a HFD to investigate the miRNA-mRNA regulatory network associated with diet-induced muscle lipid deposition. Oil Red O staining and biochemical analysis showed that high-fat diet feeding markedly increased lipid droplet accumulation and crude lipid content in muscle, indicating significant induction of muscle lipid deposition. Integrated mRNA and miRNA expression profiling revealed substantial transcriptomic and post-transcriptional responses to high-fat diet challenge. A total of 271 differentially expressed genes were identified, including 120 upregulated and 151 downregulated genes. Through combined target prediction and expression correlation analysis, thirteen candidate inverse miRNA-mRNA relationships were subsequently identified, and RT-qPCR supported the expression patterns of selected miRNAs and mRNAs. These pairs included miR-499-x-dmgdh, miR-499-y-gatm, miR-727-y-ass1, miR-4649-x-foxo4, miR-9129-z-myl7, and several novel miRNA-mediated interactions involving adk, chst11, lypla2, frem2, kcnc4, wars1, bag2, and capn2. Functional analysis suggested that these regulatory pairs were mainly associated with metabolic adaptation, structural remodeling, and cellular stress responses. In particular, gatm, dmgdh, ass1, and adk were associated with energy metabolism-related processes, including pathways previously linked to Ampk regulation, whereas myl7, frem2, and kcnc4 may contribute to muscle structural maintenance and excitability regulation. Overall, this study provides candidate miRNA-mRNA regulatory relationships potentially involved in high-fat diet-induced muscle lipid deposition and adaptive remodeling in black seabream, offering a basis for future functional studies on muscle metabolism and quality regulation in marine fish.

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Animals MicroRNAs Sea Bream Diet, High-Fat RNA, Messenger Lipid Metabolism Muscles Gene Expression Profiling Gene Expression Regulation Gene Regulatory Networks Acanthopagrus schlegelii Ampk-related metabolism High-fat diet Muscle lipid deposition miRNA-mRNA regulatory pairs Journal Article

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Changbo Ma, Wenli Zhao, Yangguang Bao, Qiuting Yang, Liwen Wu, Tingting Zhu, Peng Sun, Qicun Zhou, Min Jin. 2026-08-05. Integrated miRNA-mRNA profiling reveals candidate regulatory relationships associated with high-fat diet-induced muscle lipid deposition in black seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegelii).. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbd.2026.101966

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Journal Article resource Acanthopagrus schlegelii subject Ampk-related metabolism subject Animals subject Diet, High-Fat subject Gene Expression Profiling subject Gene Expression Regulation subject Gene Regulatory Networks subject High-fat diet subject Journal Article subject Lipid Metabolism subject MicroRNAs subject Muscle lipid deposition subject Muscles subject miRNA-mRNA regulatory pairs subject

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