Li Xiangrui, Zhang Fangmei, Coates Brad, Zhang Yunhui, Zhou Xuguo, Cheng Dengfa
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China.
Xinyang Agriculture and Forestry University, Xinyang, Henan 464000, China.
Sci Rep. 2016 Oct 20;6:35668. doi: 10.1038/srep35668.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short single-stranded non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression, particularly during development. In this study, 345 miRNAs were identified from the English green aphid, Sitobion avenae (F.), of which 168 were conserved and 177 were S. avenae-specific. Quantitative comparison of miRNA expression levels indicated that 16 and 12 miRNAs were significantly up-regulated in winged and wingless S. avenae small RNA libraries, respectively. Differential expression of these miRNAs was confirmed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR validation. The putative transcript targets for these candidate miRNAs were predicted based on sequences from a model species Drosophila melanogaster and four aphid species Acyrthosiphon pisum, Myzus persicae, Toxoptera citricida, and Aphis gosspii. Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analyses shed light on the potential functions of these miRNAs in the regulation of genes involved in the metabolism, development and wing polyphenism of S. avenae.
微小RNA（miRNA）是短的单链非编码RNA，其可调控基因表达，尤其在发育过程中。在本研究中，从麦长管蚜（Sitobion avenae (F.)）中鉴定出345个miRNA，其中168个是保守的，177个是麦长管蚜特有的。miRNA表达水平的定量比较表明，在有翅和无翅麦长管蚜小RNA文库中分别有16个和12个miRNA显著上调。通过实时定量RT-PCR验证证实了这些miRNA的差异表达。基于模式物种黑腹果蝇以及四种蚜虫物种（豌豆蚜、桃蚜、柑橘二叉蚜和棉蚜）的序列预测了这些候选miRNA的假定转录靶标。基因本体论和KEGG通路分析揭示了这些miRNA在调控参与麦长管蚜代谢、发育和翅多型性的基因方面的潜在功能。
