Novel alternatively spliced isoforms of pig ZNF280D and their diverse mRNA expression patterns

The ZNF280D is a member of the C2H2 zinc finger family, which plays important roles in cell and organismal growth, secretion, and other biological processes. This study aimed to identify the alternative splicing of pig ZNF280D, and to predict the structure and function of the encoded proteins, as well as to study the spatio-temporal expression patterns of each transcript. RNA-seq and qPCR technology were used to identify the transcripts of pig ZNF280D. We found two transcripts, ZNF280D1 and ZNF280D2 (GenBank accession number: MF279143). ZNF280D1 is the common transcript, whereas ZNF280D2 lacked a large region at exon 8. In addition, ZNF280D2 had an additional C2H2 zinc finger domain, changing the protein from a tC2H2 to a maC2H2 zinc finger protein. The expression of two transcripts in various tissues of pig was differ significant. ZNF280D2 is the main subtype. The expression of ZNF280D2 in pig muscle was found to increase gradually with age. The ZNF280D1 was first decreased and then increased slightly. We successfully identified two transcripts of pig ZNF280D, and we suggested important functions for ZNF280D in digestive absorption and growth as well as in the development of skeletal muscles, the specific mechanisms for which would require further study.