Abstract
As post-transcriptional regulators, microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in growth and reproductive processes. So far, there is limited information regarding crustacean miRNAs. To explore the potential role of miRNAs in the gonadal development of the prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii, we constructed seven small RNA libraries from ovarian and testicular tissues at various stages using somatic tissue as the control. A total of 1,954 known and 129 novel miRNAs were retrieved. By comparing differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) between testes and ovaries, forty-one miRNAs were identified with sex-biased expression patterns, including 17 ovary-biased and 24 testis-biased patterns. Furthermore, the putative target genes of the sex-biased miRNAs, such as cyclin L1, mitogen-activated protein kinase 7 (MAPK 7), heat shock protein (HSP), and zinc finger protein, were significantly enriched in many reproduction-related pathways including the Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pathway, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis pathway, ovarian steroidogenesis, estrogen signaling pathway, MAPK pathway, Wnt pathway, and insulin signaling pathway, implicating potential regulatory roles of miRNAs in reproduction. These data aid in the further investigation of the mechanism of gonadal development and reproductive regulation mediated by miRNA in M. rosenbergii.
Highlights
MicroRNAs are small single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules
By comparing the small RNA sequences with those sequences in the Rfam, non-coding RNAs in all of the libraries were categorized into ribosomal RNA (rRNA), snRNA, transfer RNA (tRNA), known miRNA and those without annotation (Table 1)
The importance of miRNAs has been recognized in regulating gene expression during sexual differentiation and gonadal development[7,8,25], there is little information available regarding the expression of miRNAs in the prawn M. rosenbergii
Summary
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules. As key post-transcriptional regulators, miRNAs in animals are capable of controlling gene expression mostly through interaction with the 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) of the target mRNA for degradation or translational inhibition[1]. Sex-biased miRNAs may be directly involved in the differential expression of many target genes, which contribute to different sexual traits during gonadal development[14]. Subsequent studies revealed many DEMs in sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus nudus)[16], tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)[17], and common carp (Cyprinus carpio)[18], suggesting that miRNAs involved in gonadal development are mediated by their differential expression of sexual dimorphism. There has been significant development in farming technology of M. rosenbergii in China, with an average annual farming expansion rate of 15.28%24. This increased productivity and technology has achieved great progress, there have been numerous developmental problems. It is necessary to focus on the mechanism of gonadal development for breeding and farming technology optimization in M. rosenbergii
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