Host microRNA analysis in cyprinid Herpesvirus-3 (CyHV-3) infected common carp

Michal Reichert,Anna Lukasik,Joanna Maj-Paluch,Magdalena Stachnik,Marek Matras,Ewa Borzym,Piotr Zielenkiewicz

doi:10.1186/s12864-018-5266-9

Abstract

BackgroundThe mechanism of latency and the ability of the cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) to establish life-long infections in carp remains poorly understood. To explain the role of miRNAs in this process we applied a range of molecular tools including high-throughput sequencing of RNA libraries constructed from the blood samples of infected fish followed by bioinformatic and functional analyses which show that CyHV-3 profoundly influences the expression of host miRNAs in vivo.ResultsWe demonstrated the changed expression of 27 miRNAs in the clinical phase and 5 in the latent phase of infection. We also identified 23 novel, not previously reported sequences, from which 8 showed altered expressions in control phase, 10 in clinical phase and 5 in latent phase of infection.ConclusionsThe results of our analysis expand the knowledge of common carp microRNAs engaged during CyHV-3 infection and provide a useful basis for the further study of the mechanism of CyHV-3 induced pathology.

Highlights

The mechanism of latency and the ability of the cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) to establish life-long infections in carp remains poorly understood
The mechanism of latency in the case of CyHV-3 infection is not known but carp miRNAs identified in this study are engaged in this mechanism as we demonstrated the changed expression of 27 miRNAs in the clinical phase (P2) and 5 in the latent phase (P3) of infection
Tags that remained unannotated after this processing were used for a series of rigorous blasting and mapping steps which revealed an abundance of different types of RNAs sequences, such as mRNAs, tRNAs, rRNAs, repeat sequences, snRNAs and others

Summary

Introduction

The mechanism of latency and the ability of the cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) to establish life-long infections in carp remains poorly understood. To explain the role of miRNAs in this process we applied a range of molecular tools including high-throughput sequencing of RNA libraries constructed from the blood samples of infected fish followed by bioinformatic and functional analyses which show that CyHV-3 profoundly influences the expression of host miRNAs in vivo. Koi herpesvirus (KHV), known as cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) belongs to the genus Cyprinivirus of the family Alloherpesviridae comprising of herpesviruses infecting only fish and amphibians [1]. All known members of the Herpesviridae family demonstrate the ability to establish life-long infections in immunocompetent hosts. MiRNAs driven gene expression regulation seems to be an important element of virus-host interplay enabling the creation of a beneficial environment for persistent virus infection.

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Discussion

Conclusion