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Simple Summary: This meta-analysis examines the impact of neutering on sheep production and quality, focusing on performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality. It is observed that castrated sheep (wethers) exhibit enhanced daily weight gain and meat tenderness compared to intact rams. Furthermore, wethers display characteristics of a slenderer carcass with potentially elevated muscle content. By utilizing gene expression analysis, the research sheds light on genes associated with metabolic pathways and fat metabolism, indicating their involvement in fat formation. These results advocate for the practice of castration in sheep farming to enhance growth and meat quality. Additionally, the identified alterations in gene expression offer valuable insights for further exploration of castration's influence on muscle development in sheep. Objective: The study aimed to investigate the effects of castration on performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality in sheep, as well as explore the expression of key genes related to metabolic pathways and muscle growth following castration. Methods: A meta-analysis approach was utilized to analyze data from multiple studies to compare the performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of castrated sheep (wethers) with intact rams. Additionally, protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks, differential gene expression (DEG) interactions, Gene Ontology (GO) terms, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were examined to identify molecular mechanisms associated with fat metabolism and muscle development in sheep tails. Results: The analysis revealed that castrated sheep (wethers) exhibited improved average daily gain, increased tenderness, lower backfat thickness, and a tendency for greater loin muscle area compared to intact rams. This suggests that castration promotes faster growth and results in leaner carcasses with potentially higher muscle content. Furthermore, the identification of downregulated DEGs like ACLY, SLC27A2, and COL1A1 and upregulated DEGs such as HOXA9, PGM2L1, and ABAT provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying fat deposition and muscle development in sheep. Conclusions: The findings support the practice of castration in sheep production as it enhances growth performance, leads to leaner carcasses with higher muscle content, and improves meat tenderness. The identified changes in gene expression offer valuable insights for further research into understanding the impact of castration on muscle development and fat metabolism in sheep. This meta-analysis contributes to the knowledge of molecular mechanisms involved in fat deposition in sheep, opening avenues for future investigations in livestock fat metabolism research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antisense RNA molecule is a unique DNA transcript consisting of 19-23 nucleotides, characterized by its complementary nature to mRNA. These antisense RNAs play a crucial role in regulating gene expression at various stages, including replication, transcription, and translation. Additionally, artificial antisense RNAs have demonstrated their ability to effectively modulate gene expression in host cells.Consequently, there has been a substantial increase in research dedicated to investigating the roles of antisense RNAs. These molecules have been found to be influential in various cellular processes, such as X-chromosome inactivation and imprinted silencing in healthy cells. However, it is important to recognize that in cancer cells; aberrantly expressed antisense RNAs can trigger the epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes. Moreover, the presence of deletion-induced aberrant antisense RNAs can lead to the development of diseases through epigenetic silencing. One area of drug development worth mentioning is antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), and a prime example of an oncogenic trans-acting long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is HOTAIR (HOX transcript antisense RNA). NATs (noncoding antisense transcripts) are dysregulated in many cancers, and researchers are just beginning to unravel their roles as crucial regulators of cancer's hallmarks, as well as their potential for cancer therapy. In this review, we summarize the emerging roles and mechanisms of antisense RNA and explore their application in cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]