Identification and Analysis of MicroRNAs Associated with Wing Polyphenism in the Brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Jiao Zhang¹  Wencai Jie¹  Fei Li²  Anran Zhan²  Xingzhou Ma²  Zhenghong Cao²  Kang He²  Le Xu²  MohamedA. A. Omar²  Yaqin Wang³ 

[1] College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China;State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;

关键词: microRNA;    wing polyphenism;    insulin;    hormone;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms21249754

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Many insects are capable of developing two types of wings (i.e., wing polyphenism) to adapt to various environments. Though the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating animal growth and development have been well studied, their potential roles in modulating wing polyphenism remain largely elusive. To identify wing polyphenism-related miRNAs, we isolated small RNAs from 1st to 5th instar nymphs of long-wing (LW) and short-wing (SW) strains of the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens. Small RNA libraries were then constructed and sequenced, yielding 158 conserved and 96 novel miRNAs. Among these, 122 miRNAs were differentially expressed between the two BPH strains. Specifically, 47, 2, 27 and 41 miRNAs were more highly expressed in the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th instars, respectively, of the LW strain compared with the SW strain. In contrast, 47, 3, 29 and 25 miRNAs were more highly expressed in the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th instars, respectively, of the SW strain compared with the LW strain. Next, we predicted the targets of these miRNAs and carried out Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis. We found that a number of pathways might be involved in wing form determination, such as the insulin, MAPK, mTOR, FoxO and thyroid hormone signaling pathways and the thyroid hormone synthesis pathway. Thirty and 45 differentially expressed miRNAs targeted genes in the insulin signaling and insect hormone biosynthesis pathways, respectively, which are related to wing dimorphism. Among these miRNAs, Nlu-miR-14-3p, Nlu-miR-9a-5p and Nlu-miR-315-5p, were confirmed to interact with insulin receptors (NlInRs) in dual luciferase reporter assays. These discoveries are helpful for understanding the miRNA-mediated regulatory mechanism of wing polyphenism in BPHs and shed new light on how insects respond to environmental cues through developmental plasticity.

【 授权许可】

Unknown