Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), the small non-coding RNAs, play a pivotal role in post-transcriptional gene regulation in various cellular processes. However, the miRNA function in shrimp antiviral response is not clearly understood. This research aims to uncover the function of pmo-miR-315, a white spot syndrome virus (WSSV)-responsive miRNAs identified from Penaeus monodon hemocytes during WSSV infection. The expression of the predicted pmo-miR-315 target mRNA, a novel PmPPAE gene called PmPPAE3, was negatively correlated with that of the pmo-miR-315. Furthermore, the luciferase assay indicated that the pmo-miR-315 directly interacted with the target site in PmPPAE3 suggesting the regulatory role of pmo-miR-315 on PmPPAE3 gene expression. Introducing the pmo-miR-315 into the WSSV-infected shrimp caused the reduction of the PmPPAE3 transcript level and, hence, the PO activity activated by the PmPPAE3 whereas the WSSV copy number in the shrimp hemocytes was increased. Taken together, our findings state a crucial role of pmo-miR-315 in attenuating proPO activation via PPAE3 gene suppression and facilitating the WSSV propagation in shrimp WSSV infection.
Highlights
MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNA molecules transcribed from the genome and subsequently processed by Drosha and Dicer nucleases [1]
The pmo-miR-315 was highly up-regulated at 48 h post-white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection
The pmo-miR-315 expression was observed in all tissues tested, the significant response to WSSV infection were found only in hemocytes, in which it was up-regulated at 24 and 48 hpi for about 5- and 30-fold compared with that at 0 hpi (Figure 1)
Summary
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules transcribed from the genome and subsequently processed by Drosha and Dicer nucleases [1]. When miRNA complementary binds to the 3′-untranslated regions (3′-UTRs) of mRNAs, it can cleave the target mRNAs or inhibits the mRNA translation, down-regulating the corresponding gene expression. It has been reported that the miRNAs can bind to the 5′-untranslated regions (5′-UTR) [2] or even within the coding sequence of mRNAs [3]. MiRNA’s function involves the regulation of various biological processes including the host-virus interaction upon viral infection. Viral miRNAs downregulate specific viral and cellular mRNAs to establish a host environment conducive to the completion of viral life cycle. The host miRNAs modulate both cellular and viral transcripts exerting influence over immune responses [4]
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