Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the expression of target genes in diverse cellular processes and play important roles in different physiological processes. However, little is known about the microRNAome (miRNAome) during encystment of ciliated protozoa. In the current study, we first investigated the differentially expressed miRNAs and relative signaling pathways participating in the transformation of vegetative cells into dormant cysts of Pseudourostyla cristata (P. cristata). A total of 1608 known miRNAs were found in the two libraries. There were 165 miRNAs with 1217 target miRNAs. The total number of differential miRNAs screened between vegetative cells and dormant cysts databases were 449 with p < 0.05 and |log2 fold changes| > 1. Among them, the upregulated and downregulated miRNAs were 243 and 206, respectively. Furthermore, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that some of the differentially expressed miRNAs were mainly associated with oxidative phosphorylation, two-component system, and biosynthesis of amino acids. Combining with our bioinformatics analyzes, some differentially expressed miRNAs including miR-143, miR-23b-3p, miR-28, and miR-744-5p participates in the encystment of P. cristata. Based on these findings, we propose a hypothetical signaling network of miRNAs regulating or promoting P. cristata encystment. This study shed new lights on the regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs in encystment of ciliated protozoa.
Highlights
Ciliated protozoa are unicellular eukaryotes which show a high level of cell differentiation and are distributed worldwide in diverse habitats
Gao et al identified proteins and genes in dormant cysts of P. cristata including fibrillarin-like rRNA methylase, ADP ribosylation factor, Rab12, and MAPK-related kinase by shotgun LC-MS/MS and scale quantitative real-time PCR analysis [9]
We provided the complete miRNA profiles of vegetative cells and dormant cysts and the molecular mechanism of the cyst formation of ciliated protozoa by small RNA sequencing in the Illumina high-throughput sequencing (HiSeq) X Ten system
Summary
Ciliated protozoa are unicellular eukaryotes which show a high level of cell differentiation and are distributed worldwide in diverse habitats. Studies on the dormant cyst formation contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of eukaryotic cell morphogenesis [3]. Several scientists have developed new techniques and methods to study the molecular mechanism of encystment in ciliates. Chen et al identified that several proteins were associated with encystment of Euplotes encysticus including type II cytoskeletal 1, calpain-like protein, formate acetyltransferase, alpha S1 casein, and cold-shock protein by 2D electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF MS techniques [8]. Gao et al identified proteins and genes in dormant cysts of P. cristata including fibrillarin-like rRNA methylase, ADP ribosylation factor, Rab, and MAPK-related kinase by shotgun LC-MS/MS and scale quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis [9]. To the best of our knowledge, there is no attention that has been paid to the function of miRNAs involved in the regulatory formation of ciliate cysts
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