Expression of a vitelline membrane protein, BmVMP23, is repressed by bmo-miR-1a-3p in silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Previous studies have shown that the 3' UTR of BmVMP23 was destroyed by an inserted fragment, and the BmVMP23 expression was downregulated in the lethal egg of "Ming" (l-e(m)). In this study, we found a miRNA (bmo-miR-1a-3p) that matches the 3' UTR sequence of BmVMP23 perfectly. The relationship between bmo-miR-1a-3p and the BmVMP23 expression was examined by the co-transfection in vitro. The luciferase assay result showed that luc expression was strongly repressed. This result inferred that bmo-miR-1a-3p may downregulate BmVMP23 expression via complementary interaction with the target sites at the 3' UTR.