Núñez-Acuña Gustavo, Gallardo-Escárate Cristian
Laboratory of Biotechnology and Aquatic Genomics, Interdisciplinary Center for Aquaculture Research (INCAR), University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
Laboratory of Biotechnology and Aquatic Genomics, Interdisciplinary Center for Aquaculture Research (INCAR), University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
Mar Genomics. 2019 Jun;45:38-47. doi: 10.1016/j.margen.2019.01.005. Epub 2019 Feb 14.
The salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis is a marine ectoparasite that has a detrimental impact on salmon farms. Genomic knowledge of adult stages is critical to understand the reproductive success and lifecycle completion of this species. Here, we report a comprehensive characterization of the L. salmonis miRNome with emphasis on the sex-differences of the parasite. Small-RNA sequencing was conducted on males and females, and mRNA-sequencing was also conducted to identify miRNA-targets at these stages. Based on bioinformatics analyses, 3101 putative miRNAs were found in L. salmonis, including precursors and variants. The most abundant and over-expressed miRNAs belonged to the bantam, mir-100, mir-1, mir-263a and mir-276 families, while the most differentially expressed mRNAs corresponded to genes related to reproduction and other biological processes involved in cell-differentiation. Target analyses revealed that the most up-regulated miRNAs in males can act by inhibiting the expression of genes related to female differentiation such as vitellogenin genes. Target prediction and expression patterns suggested a pivotal role of miRNAs in the reproductive development of L. salmonis.
鲑鱼虱Lepeophtheirus salmonis是一种海洋外寄生虫，对鲑鱼养殖场有不利影响。成虫阶段的基因组知识对于理解该物种的繁殖成功和生命周期完成至关重要。在此，我们报告了鲑鱼虱miRNome的全面特征，重点关注寄生虫的性别差异。对雄性和雌性进行了小RNA测序，并进行了mRNA测序以鉴定这些阶段的miRNA靶标。基于生物信息学分析，在鲑鱼虱中发现了3101个假定的miRNA，包括前体和变体。最丰富和过度表达的miRNA属于bantam、mir-100、mir-1、mir-263a和mir-276家族，而差异表达最大的mRNA对应于与繁殖和细胞分化中涉及的其他生物学过程相关的基因。靶标分析表明，雄性中上调最多的miRNA可通过抑制与雌性分化相关的基因（如卵黄蛋白原基因）的表达发挥作用。靶标预测和表达模式表明miRNA在鲑鱼虱的生殖发育中起关键作用。
