Salivary miR-16, miR-191 and miR-223: intuitive indicators of dominant ovarian follicles in buffaloes

Estrus or sexual receptivity determination is utmost important for efficient breeding programs for female buffaloes. Prominent estrus behavioral symptoms are the result of several molecular and neuroendocrine events involving the ovary and the brain. Expression of estrus behavior is poor in buffaloes during the summer season. Hence, the discovery of biomarkers specific to the estrus stage or its related ovarian events, like the presence of dominant ovarian follicle, is helpful for developing an easy estrus determination method. MicroRNA are small non-coding RNA with a potential to be biomarkers. Therefore, the present study targeted to investigate the potential of estrogen responsive miRNAs (miR-24, miR-200c, miR-16, miR-191, miR-223 and miR-203) as estrus biomarkers in buffalo saliva, a non-invasive fluid representing animals’ pathophysiology. There was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the salivary presence of the miR-16, miR-191 and miR-223 at 6th and 18th–19th days than the 0 day (estrus), 10th day and the following consecutive estrus day. These observations may indicate an association between the representative lower presence of these miRNA in saliva and the presence of dominant ovarian follicles. To test this association, pathway analysis, target gene identification, functional annotation and protein–protein interaction networks (PPI) were performed for miR-16, miR-191 and miR-223 by different bioinformatics tools. Interestingly, the top pathways (fatty acid biosynthesis and oocyte meiosis), target genes (FGF, BDNF and IGF1) and PPI hub genes (KRAS, BCL2 and IGF1) of these miRNAs were found essential for ovarian follicular dominance. In conclusion, the miR-16, miR-191 and miR-223 may not be the perfect estrus stage-specific biomarkers. However, their lower presence in saliva at estrus and 9th–10th day of estrous cycles, when the ovary usually has a dominant follicle in buffaloes, may intuitively indicate the follicular dominance. Further studies are needed to prove this association in a large population.