The morphogenesis of the mammalian retina depends on the precise control of gene expression during development. Small non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs play profound roles in various physiological and pathological processes via gene expression regulation. A systematic analysis of the expression profile of small non-coding RNAs in developing Wistar rat retinas (postnatally day 5 (P5), P7, P10, P15 and P21) was executed using IonTorrent PGM next-generation sequencing technique to reveal the crucial players in the early postnatal retinogenesis. Our analysis reveals extensive regulatory potential of microRNAs during retinal development. We found a group of microRNAs that show constant high abundance (miR-19, miR-101; miR-181, miR-183, miR-124 and let-7) during the development process. Others are present only in the early stages (miR-20a, miR-206, miR-133, miR-466, miR-1247, miR-3582), or at later stages (miR-29, miR-96, miR-125, miR-344 or miR-664). Further miRNAs were detected which are differentially expressed in time. Finally, pathway enrichment analysis has revealed 850 predicted target genes that mainly participate in lipid-, amino acid- and glycan metabolisms in the examined time-period (P5–P21). P5–P7 transition revealed the importance of miRNAs in glutamatergic synapse and gap junction pathways. Significantly downregulated miRNAs rno-miR-30c1 and 2, rno-miR-205 and rno-miR-503 were detected to target Prkx (ENSRNOG00000003696), Adcy6 (ENSRNOG00000011587), Gnai3 (ENSRNOG00000019465) and Gja1 (ENSRNOG00000000805) genes. The dataset described here will be a valuable resource for clarifying new regulatory mechanisms for retinal development and will greatly contribute to our understanding of the divergence and function of microRNAs.

哺乳动物视网膜的形态发生取决于发育过程中基因表达的精确控制。小非编码RNA，包括microRNA，通过基因表达调控在各种生理和病理过程中发挥着深远的作用。使用 IonTorrent PGM 新一代测序技术对发育中的 Wistar 大鼠视网膜（出生后第 5 天 (P5)、P7、P10、P15 和 P21）中小非编码 RNA 的表达谱进行系统分析，以揭示其中的关键参与者。产后早期视网膜发生。我们的分析揭示了 microRNA 在视网膜发育过程中的广泛调节潜力。我们发现了一组在发育过程中表现出恒定高丰度的 microRNA（miR-19、miR-101；miR-181、miR-183、miR-124 和 let-7）。其他的仅存在于早期阶段（miR-20a、miR-206、miR-133、miR-466、miR-1247、miR-3582），或后期（miR-29、miR-96、miR-125、miR-344 或 miR-664）。进一步检测到随时间差异表达的 miRNA。最后，通路富集分析揭示了在检查时间段（P5-P21）内主要参与脂质、氨基酸和聚糖代谢的 850 个预测靶基因。P5-P7 转变揭示了 miRNA 在谷氨酸突触和间隙连接通路中的重要性。检测到显着下调的 miRNA rno-miR-30c1 和 2、rno-miR-205 和 rno-miR-503 靶向 Prkx (ENSRNOG00000003696)、Adcy6 (ENSRNOG00000011587)、Gnai3 (ENSRNOG00000019465) 和 Gja1 (ENSRNOG00000000805) ）基因。