Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
Mosquito Control Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, 300 Herston Road, Herston, 4006, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2022 Sep 9;12(1):15245. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-19574-x.
The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of a range of medically important viruses including dengue, Zika, West Nile, yellow fever, and chikungunya viruses. The endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis wAlbB strain is a promising biocontrol agent for blocking viral transmission by Ae. aegypti. To predict the long-term efficacy of field applications, a thorough understanding of the interactions between symbiont, host, and pathogen is required. Wolbachia influences host physiology in a variety of ways including reproduction, immunity, metabolism, and longevity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression in eukaryotes and viruses. Several miRNAs are known to regulate biological processes in Drosophila and mosquitoes, including facilitating Wolbachia maintenance. We generated the first chromosomal map of Ae. aegypti miRNAs, and compared miRNA expression profiles between a wAlbB-transinfected Ae. aegypti mosquito line and a tetracycline cleared derivative, using deep small RNA-sequencing. We found limited modulation of miRNAs in response to wAlbB infection. Several miRNAs were modulated in response to age, some of which showed greater upregulation in wAlbB-infected mosquitoes than in tetracycline cleared ones. By selectively inhibiting some differentially expressed miRNAs, we identified miR-2946-3p and miR-317-3p as effecting mosquito longevity in Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes.
埃及伊蚊是多种医学上重要病毒的主要传播媒介，包括登革热、寨卡、西尼罗河、黄热病和基孔肯雅热病毒。共生菌沃尔巴克氏体wAlbB 菌株是一种很有前途的生物控制剂，可以阻止埃及伊蚊传播病毒。为了预测野外应用的长期效果，需要深入了解共生体、宿主和病原体之间的相互作用。沃尔巴克氏体以多种方式影响宿主生理，包括生殖、免疫、代谢和寿命。微 RNA（miRNA）是高度保守的小非编码 RNA，可在真核生物和病毒中调节基因表达。已知有几种 miRNA 可调节果蝇和蚊子中的生物过程，包括促进沃尔巴克氏体的维持。我们生成了埃及伊蚊 miRNA 的第一个染色体图谱，并使用深度小 RNA-seq 比较了 wAlbB 转染的埃及伊蚊蚊线和四环素清除衍生物之间的 miRNA 表达谱。我们发现 miRNA 对 wAlbB 感染的反应有限。一些 miRNA 对年龄有反应，其中一些在 wAlbB 感染的蚊子中上调幅度大于四环素清除的蚊子。通过选择性抑制一些差异表达的 miRNA，我们确定 miR-2946-3p 和 miR-317-3p 可影响感染沃尔巴克氏体的蚊子的寿命。
