Song Hao, Qi Lu, Zhang Tao, Wang Hai-Yan
Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, 266071, China.
G3 (Bethesda). 2017 Dec 4;7(12):3999-4008. doi: 10.1534/g3.117.300210.
The veined rapa whelk () is widely consumed in China. Nevertheless, it preys on oceanic bivalves, thereby reducing this resource worldwide. Its larval metamorphosis comprises a transition from pelagic to benthic form, which involves considerable physiological and structural changes and has vital roles in its natural populations and commercial breeding. Thus, understanding the endogenous microRNAs (miRNAs) that drive metamorphosis is of great interest. This is the first study to use high-throughput sequencing to examine the alterations in miRNA expression that occur during metamorphosis in a marine gastropod. A total of 195 differentially expressed miRNAs were obtained. Sixty-five of these were expressed during the transition from precompetent to competent larvae. Thirty-three of these were upregulated and the others were downregulated. Another 123 miRNAs were expressed during the transition from competent to postlarvae. Ninety-six of these were upregulated and the remaining 27 were downregulated. The expression of miR-276-y, miR-100-x, miR-183-x, and miR-263-x showed a >100-fold change during development, while the miR-242-x and novel-m0052-3p expression levels changed over 3000-fold. Putative target gene coexpression, gene ontology, and pathway analyses suggest that these miRNAs play important parts in cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis, metabolic regulation, and energy absorption. Twenty miRNAs and their target genes involved in ingestion, digestion, cytoskeleton, cell adhesion, and apoptosis were identified. Nine of them were analyzed with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which showed an inverse correlation between the miRNAs and their relative expression levels. Our data elucidate the role of miRNAs in metamorphic transition and serve as a solid basis for further investigations into regulatory mechanisms of gastropod metamorphosis.
脉红螺在中国被广泛食用。然而，它以海洋双壳贝类为食，从而减少了全球范围内的这一资源。其幼体变态包括从浮游形式到底栖形式的转变，这涉及相当大的生理和结构变化，并且在其自然种群和商业养殖中起着至关重要的作用。因此，了解驱动变态的内源性微小RNA（miRNA）具有重要意义。这是第一项利用高通量测序来研究海洋腹足类动物变态过程中miRNA表达变化的研究。共获得195个差异表达的miRNA。其中65个在从无能力幼虫到有能力幼虫的转变过程中表达。其中33个上调，其他下调。另外123个miRNA在从有能力幼虫到后期幼虫的转变过程中表达。其中96个上调，其余27个下调。miR-276-y、miR-100-x、miR-183-x和miR-263-x的表达在发育过程中变化超过100倍，而miR-242-x和新的m0052-3p的表达水平变化超过3000倍。推测的靶基因共表达、基因本体和通路分析表明，这些miRNA在细胞增殖、迁移、凋亡、代谢调节和能量吸收中起重要作用。鉴定出20个参与摄食、消化、细胞骨架、细胞黏附和凋亡的miRNA及其靶基因。其中9个用实时聚合酶链反应（PCR）进行分析，结果显示miRNA与其相对表达水平呈负相关。我们的数据阐明了miRNA在变态转变中的作用，并为进一步研究腹足类动物变态的调控机制奠定了坚实基础。
