Research Progress on Regulation of microRNAs in Animal Skin and Hair Follicle

The regulation of gene expression is a decisive factor in the growth and development of animal hair.microRNA,as a newly discovered gene regulatory element,is expressed in many kinds of mammalian skin and hair follicles,regulating the growth and development of skin and hair in post-transcriptional level.Analysising the characteristics and mechanisms of hair growth in sheep,goats,alpacas and other mammals,in microRNA level,may provide the new ideas in improving economic animal hair quality and yielding,and the more in-depth research the function of microRNA in skin tissue.In the present review,we focus on the regulatory role of microRNA in sheep,goats,alpaca and other mammalian skin and hair follicle development.