Abstract
BackgroundThe grass carp hemorrhagic disease caused by the grass carp reovirus (GCRV) is a major disease that hampers the development of grass carp aquaculture. The mechanism underlying GCRV pathogenesis and hemorrhagic symptoms is still unknown. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators involved in various biological processes. The aim of this study was to identify conserved and novel miRNAs in grass carp in response to GCRV infection, as well as attempt to reveal the mechanism underlying GCRV pathogenesis and hemorrhagic symptoms.ResultsGrass carp were infected with GCRV, and spleen samples were collected at 0 (control), 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 days post-infection (dpi). These samples were used to construct and sequence small RNA libraries. A total of 1208 miRNAs were identified, of which 278 were known miRNAs and 930 were novel miRNAs. Thirty-six miRNAs were identified to exhibit differential expression when compared with the control, and 536 target genes were predicted for the 36 miRNAs. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of these target genes showed that many of the significantly enriched terms were associated with immune response, blood coagulation, hemostasis, and complement and coagulation cascades, especially the GO term “blood coagulation” and pathway “complement and coagulation cascades.” Ten representative target genes involved in “complement and coagulation cascades” were selected for qPCR analysis, and the results showed that the expression patterns of these target genes were significantly upregulated at 7 dpi, suggesting that the pathway “complement and coagulation cascades” was strongly activated.ConclusionConserved and novel miRNAs in response to GCRV infection were identified in grass carp, of which 278 were known miRNAs and 930 were novel miRNAs. Many of the target genes involved in immune response, blood coagulation, hemostasis, and complement and coagulation cascades. Strong activation of the pathway “complement and coagulation cascades” may have led to endothelial-cell and blood-cell damage and hemorrhagic symptoms. The present study provides a new insight into understanding the mechanism underlying GCRV pathogenesis and hemorrhagic symptoms.
Highlights
The grass carp hemorrhagic disease caused by the grass carp reovirus (GCRV) is a major disease that hampers the development of grass carp aquaculture
With the development of next-generation sequencing, an increasing number of miRNAs have been reported to participate in virus–host interactions, for example, miR-148a and miR-30a in cells infected by the hepatitis C virus [14], miR-34a in cells infected by the influenza A virus [15], miR-BART6-3p of the Epstein-Barr virus [16], and miR-UL112-1 of the human cytomegalovirus [17]
Ethics approval and consent to participate Animal welfare and experimental procedures were performed in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Ministry of Science and Technology of China, 2006), and the protocol was approved by the committee of the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Summary
The grass carp hemorrhagic disease caused by the grass carp reovirus (GCRV) is a major disease that hampers the development of grass carp aquaculture. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators involved in various biological processes. The aim of this study was to identify conserved and novel miRNAs in grass carp in response to GCRV infection, as well as attempt to reveal the mechanism underlying GCRV pathogenesis and hemorrhagic symptoms. MiRNAs are key participants involved in virus–host interactions [9]. With the development of next-generation sequencing, an increasing number of miRNAs have been reported to participate in virus–host interactions, for example, miR-148a and miR-30a in cells infected by the hepatitis C virus [14], miR-34a in cells infected by the influenza A virus [15], miR-BART6-3p of the Epstein-Barr virus [16], and miR-UL112-1 of the human cytomegalovirus [17]
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have