Abstract
Cattle have been suggested as the primary reservoirs of E. coli O157 mainly as a result of colonization of the recto-anal junction (RAJ) and subsequent shedding into the environment. Although a recent study reported different gene expression at RAJ between super-shedders (SS) and non-shedders (NS), the regulatory mechanisms of altered gene expression is unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether bovine non-coding RNAs play a role in regulating the differentially expressed (DE) genes between SS and NS, thus further influencing E. coli O157 shedding behavior in the animals through studying miRNAomes of the whole gastrointestinal tract including duodenum, proximal jejunum, distal jejunum, cecum, spiral colon, descending colon and rectum. The number of miRNAs detected in each intestinal region ranged from 390 ± 13 (duodenum) to 413 ± 49 (descending colon). Comparison between SS and NS revealed the number of differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs ranged from one (in descending colon) to eight (in distal jejunum), and through the whole gut, seven miRNAs were up-regulated and seven were down-regulated in SS. The distal jejunum and rectum were the regions where the most DE miRNAs were identified (eight and seven, respectively). The miRNAs, bta-miR-378b, bta-miR-2284j, and bta-miR-2284d were down-regulated in both distal jejunum and rectum of SS (log(2)fold-change: -2.7 to -3.8), bta-miR-2887 was down-regulated in the rectum of SS (log(2)fold-change: -3.2), and bta-miR-211 and bta-miR-29d-3p were up-regulated in the rectum of SS (log(2)fold-change: 4.5 and 2.2). Functional analysis of these miRNAs indicated their potential regulatory role in host immune functions, including hematological system development and immune cell trafficking. Our findings suggest that altered expression of miRNA in the gut of SS may lead to differential regulation of immune functions involved in E. coli O157 super-shedding in cattle.