Leila Gharehdaghi1, Mohammad Reza Bakhtiarizadeh2, Kang He3, Taher Harkinezhad1, Gholamhosein Tahmasbi4, Fei Li5. 1. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran. 2. Department of Animal and Poultry Science, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. 3. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects/Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, China. 4. Department of Honeybee, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Animal Science Research Institute of Iran, Karaj, Iran. 5. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects/Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, China. lifei18@zju.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: MicroRNA (miRNA) is a class of small noncoding RNAs, which targets on thousands of mRNA and thus plays important roles in many biological processes. It has been reported that miRNA has cross-species regulation functions between parasitoid-host, or plant-animal, etc. For example, several plant miRNAs enter into the honey bees and regulate gene expression. However, whether cross-species regulation function of miRNAs is a universal mechanism remains a debate question. RESULTS: We have evaluated transmission of miRNAs from sunflower and sedr plants into the midgut of honey bee using RNA-Seq analyses complemented with confirmation by RT-qPCR. The results showed that at least 11 plant miRNAs were found in the midgut of honey bee feeding by sunflower and sedr pollen. Among which, nine miRNAs, including miR-30d, miR-143, miR-148a, miR-21, let-7 g, miR-26a, miR-126, miR-27a, and miR-203, were shared between the sunflower- and sedr-fed honey bees, suggesting they might have essential roles in plant-insect interactions. Moreover, existence of these co-shared miRNAs presents a strong evidence to support the successful transmission of miRNAs into the midgut of the insect. In total, 121 honeybee mRNAs were predicted to be the target of these 11 plant-derived miRNAs. Interestingly, a sedr-derived miRNA, miR-206, targets on 53 honeybee genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analyses showed that these target genes are significantly involved in hippo signaling pathway-fly, Wnt signaling pathway, and N-Glycan biosynthesis. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, these results provide evidence of cross-species regulation function of miRNA between honeybee and flowering host plants, extending our understanding of the molecular interactions between plants and animals.
BACKGROUND: MicroRNA (miRNA) is a class of small noncoding RNAs, which targets on thousands of mRNA and thus plays important roles in many biological processes. It has been reported that miRNA has cross-species regulation functions between parasitoid-host, or plant-animal, etc. For example, several plant miRNAs enter into the honey bees and regulate gene expression. However, whether cross-species regulation function of miRNAs is a universal mechanism remains a debate question. RESULTS: We have evaluated transmission of miRNAs from sunflower and sedr plants into the midgut of honey bee using RNA-Seq analyses complemented with confirmation by RT-qPCR. The results showed that at least 11 plant miRNAs were found in the midgut of honey bee feeding by sunflower and sedr pollen. Among which, nine miRNAs, including miR-30d, miR-143, miR-148a, miR-21, let-7 g, miR-26a, miR-126, miR-27a, and miR-203, were shared between the sunflower- and sedr-fed honey bees, suggesting they might have essential roles in plant-insect interactions. Moreover, existence of these co-shared miRNAs presents a strong evidence to support the successful transmission of miRNAs into the midgut of the insect. In total, 121 honeybee mRNAs were predicted to be the target of these 11 plant-derived miRNAs. Interestingly, a sedr-derived miRNA, miR-206, targets on 53 honeybee genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analyses showed that these target genes are significantly involved in hippo signaling pathway-fly, Wnt signaling pathway, and N-Glycan biosynthesis. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, these results provide evidence of cross-species regulation function of miRNA between honeybee and flowering host plants, extending our understanding of the molecular interactions between plants and animals.
Authors: Melissa Piper Hunter; Noura Ismail; Xiaoli Zhang; Baltazar D Aguda; Eun Joo Lee; Lianbo Yu; Tao Xiao; Jeffrey Schafer; Mei-Ling Ting Lee; Thomas D Schmittgen; S Patrick Nana-Sinkam; David Jarjoura; Clay B Marsh Journal: PLoS One Date: 2008-11-11 Impact factor: 3.240