School of Marine Science and Engineering, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China.
School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.
Mar Biotechnol (NY). 2019 Aug;21(4):550-564. doi: 10.1007/s10126-019-09903-z. Epub 2019 May 21.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small non-coding RNAs, which could bind to the 3'-untranslated regions of their target mRNAs to regulate gene expression in various biological processes, including immune-regulated signaling pathways. Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L.), an important commercial fish species in China, has been suffering with Vibrio anguillarum infection resulted in dramatic economic loss. Therefore, we investigated the expression profiles of miRNAs, as well as the immune-related miRNA-mRNA pairs in turbot intestine at 1 h, 4 h, and 12 h following V. anguillarum infection. As a result, 266 predicted novel miRNAs and 283 conserved miRNAs belonging to 92 miRNA families were detected. A total of 44 miRNAs were differentially expressed in the intestine following V. anguillarum infection. Following prediction, the potential target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs were grouped into a wide range of functional categories, including immune defense/evasion, inflammatory responses, RIG-I signaling pathway, and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. Moreover, we selected 15 differentially expressed immune genes and their related differentially expressed miRNAs to construct an interaction network for V. anguillarum infection in turbot. These results suggested that in teleost, as in higher vertebrates, miRNAs prominently contribute to immune responses, protecting the host against infection. In addition, this is the first report of comprehensive identification of turbot miRNAs being differentially regulated in the intestine related to V. anguillarum infection. Our results provided an opportunity for further understanding of the molecular mechanisms of miRNA regulation in turbot host-pathogen interactions.
微小 RNA（miRNAs）是一组小的非编码 RNA，可以与它们的靶 mRNA 的 3'-非翻译区结合，从而调节各种生物过程中的基因表达，包括免疫调节信号通路。大菱鲆（Scophthalmus maximus L.）是中国重要的商业鱼类品种，一直受到鳗弧菌感染的困扰，导致了巨大的经济损失。因此，我们研究了大菱鲆肠道中 miRNA 的表达谱，以及在鳗弧菌感染后 1 h、4 h 和 12 h 的免疫相关 miRNA-mRNA 对。结果检测到 266 个预测的新 miRNA 和 283 个属于 92 个 miRNA 家族的保守 miRNA。在鳗弧菌感染后，肠道中共有 44 个 miRNA 表达发生差异。经过预测，差异表达 miRNA 的潜在靶基因被分为广泛的功能类别，包括免疫防御/逃逸、炎症反应、RIG-I 信号通路和 Toll 样受体信号通路。此外，我们选择了 15 个差异表达的免疫基因及其相关的差异表达 miRNA，构建了一个大菱鲆感染鳗弧菌的相互作用网络。这些结果表明，在硬骨鱼类中，与高等脊椎动物一样，miRNA 对免疫反应有重要贡献，保护宿主免受感染。此外，这是首次报道全面鉴定与鳗弧菌感染相关的大菱鲆肠道中差异调节的 miRNA。我们的研究结果为进一步了解 miRNA 在大菱鲆宿主-病原体相互作用中的调控分子机制提供了机会。
