LPGP, INRA, 35000 Rennes, France.
Sci Rep. 2017 Jan 10;7:40241. doi: 10.1038/srep40241.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, highly conserved non-coding RNAs that play important roles in the regulation of many physiological processes. However, the role of miRNAs in vertebrate oocyte formation (i.e., oogenesis) remains poorly investigated. To gain new insights into the roles of miRNAs in oogenesis, we searched for ovarian-predominant miRNAs. Using a microarray displaying 3,800 distinct miRNAs originating from different vertebrate species, we identified 66 miRNAs that are expressed predominantly in the ovary. Of the miRNAs exhibiting the highest overabundance in the ovary, 20 were selected for further analysis. Using a combination of QPCR and in silico analyses, we identified 8 novel miRNAs that are predominantly expressed in the ovary, including 2 miRNAs (miR-4785 and miR-6352) that exhibit strict ovarian expression. Of these 8 miRNAs, 7 were previously uncharacterized in fish. The strict ovarian expression of miR-4785 and miR-6352 suggests an important role in oogenesis and/or early development, possibly involving a maternal effect. Together, these results indicate that, similar to protein-coding genes, a significant number of ovarian-predominant miRNA genes are found in fish.
微小 RNA（miRNA）是一类高度保守的小非编码 RNA，在调节多种生理过程中发挥重要作用。然而，miRNA 在脊椎动物卵母细胞形成（即卵子发生）中的作用仍未得到充分研究。为了深入了解 miRNA 在卵子发生中的作用，我们寻找卵巢优势 miRNA。我们使用显示来自不同脊椎动物的 3800 种不同 miRNA 的微阵列，鉴定出 66 种主要在卵巢中表达的 miRNA。在卵巢中表达丰度最高的 miRNA 中，选择了 20 种进行进一步分析。我们使用 QPCR 和计算机分析相结合的方法，鉴定出 8 种主要在卵巢中表达的新 miRNA，包括 2 种严格卵巢表达的 miRNA（miR-4785 和 miR-6352）。在这 8 个 miRNA 中，有 7 个在鱼类中以前没有被描述过。miR-4785 和 miR-6352 的严格卵巢表达表明其在卵子发生和/或早期发育中具有重要作用，可能涉及母体效应。总之，这些结果表明，与蛋白质编码基因类似，鱼类中存在大量卵巢优势 miRNA 基因。
