果蝇微小RNA及其在衰老过程中的作用

微小RNA（microRNA, miRNA）是一类长度在22 nt左右的内源非编码小RNA,广泛存在于动物、植物、病毒等多种有机体中,是机体正常衰老与疾病的重要调控因子。本文对果蝇不同生长时期miRNA的表达模式、主要衰老相关信号通路以及与衰老相关的miRNA进行了综述。在果蝇的不同发育时期均有特定的miRNA发挥重要作用,其表达模式与功能相关;miRNA参与了主要衰老分子信号通路的调控,如胰岛素/胰岛素样生长因子（IIS）通路和雷帕霉素靶蛋白（TOR）通路。研究表明,miRNA通过调控衰老相关信号通路中的靶基因,进而促进或延缓果蝇衰老,如miR-34, miR-8, miR-14, miR let7和miR-277等。因此,研究参与衰老调控的miRNA,为阐明衰老机制及抗衰老药物的设计奠定了基础。     

小桐子低温胁迫下microRNA实时荧光定量PCR内参的筛选与比较

选择合适的内参对实时荧光定量PCR(qRT-PCR)结果的准确性极其重要,在microRNA(miRNA)的qRT-PCR分析中尤为如此。通过筛选适宜分析小桐子低温胁迫下miRNA定量表达的内参,为小桐子及其他物种mi RNA的qRT-PCR分析提供有用的理论参考。基于以前的小RNA-seq结果,以低温处理的小桐子为材料,挑选11个候选内参基因,用实时荧光定量PCR技术检测它们在不同样本中的表达量,采用GeNorm、NormFinder和BestKeeper软件进行表达稳定性综合分析。结果表明,表达最稳定的基因是miR6448和U6,miR6448的Ct值为23左右,表达丰度适中;U6的Ct值为10左右,表达丰度高;因此,miR6448可作为小桐子低温胁迫下表达丰度适中的miRNA qRT-PCR的内参基因;U6可作为小桐子低温胁迫下丰度较高的miRNA qRT-PCR的内参基因。     

马蔺根系响应Cd胁迫的miRNA高通量测序分析

为了解Cd胁迫下马蔺﹝Iris lactea var. chinensis ( Fisch.) Koidz.〕根系miRNA的表达模式,采用高通量测序法对100μmol·L-1 Cd胁迫0(CK)和24 h(Cd)后马蔺根系的sRNA文库(分别为CK和Cd文库)进行分析,筛选出显著差异表达的miRNA,并对这些miRNA的靶基因功能进行预测;在此基础上,采用qRT-PCR技术对部分miRNA及其靶基因的表达模式进行验证。结果表明：在CK和Cd文库中,未注释的sRNA序列较多,分别占各自sRNA特异序列总数的86.4%和80.5%;在已注释的sRNA序列中,miRNA所占比例最低(分别为0.3%和0.5%),而rRNA所占比例最高(分别为9.4%和11.8%);2个文库中的sRNA长度主要为21~24 nt,且均以21 nt为最多。从Cd胁迫下马蔺根系sRNA中共筛选出32个显著差异表达的miRNA,其中20个miRNA表达量下调(分别属于miR165、miR166、miR167、miR168、miR390和miR396家族),12个miRNA表达量上调。功能预测结果表明：这些miRNA靶基因的功能主要集中在生物学过程、细胞组分和分子功能3个方面;而从KEGG通路富集分析看,富集在核糖体、氨基酸生物合成和碳代谢3个通路上的差异表达miRNA的靶基因数分别为122、88和82个。 qRT-PCR验证结果表明：在CK和Cd文库间,11个差异表达miRNA及8个靶基因的相对表达量均有显著差异(P<0.05);其中,11个miRNA相对表达量的上调和下调趋势与上述筛选结果一致,并且miRNA相对表达量上调时,其靶基因的相对表达量下调,反之亦然,说明Cd胁迫条件下马蔺根系的miRNA负调控其靶基因的表达,并且这些靶基因主要参与编码转录因子、HD-ZIP蛋白和信号蛋白等过程。     

基于RNA-seq的无量山乌骨鸡(Gallus gallus)肝脏脂代谢相关miRNAs的筛选

为研究无量山乌骨鸡(Gallus gallus)肝组织脂代谢相关miRNA (microRNA)在不同发育阶段的表达特征,本研究采集出壳当日(D1)和168日龄(D168)母鸡肝组织样品作为试验材料,利用DNBSEQ平台进行测序,采用DEGseq筛选差异表达的miRNA及其靶基因,随机选取9个差异表达miRNA进行RT-qPCR验证,KEGG通路分类筛选出脂代谢相关miRNA并进行聚类分析,预测脂代谢相关miRNA靶基因并进行GO和KEGG通路功能富集,构建脂代谢相关miRNA和靶基因关联网络。分析结果表明,筛选出106个差异表达miRNAs,包括54个上调miRNA和52个下调miRNA;聚类得到41个脂代谢相关的miRNAs;预测到38个靶基因,对靶基因的功能注释确定主要富集于甘油磷脂代谢、脂肪酸代谢和鞘脂代谢等脂质代谢相关通路,novel-gga-miR2311-5p-DGKZ、 novel-gga-miR2047-3p-ACACA、 novel-gga-miR866-3p-DGKH是脂代谢相关候选miRNA-mRNA关系对。研究提示无量山乌骨鸡肝组织miRNA在不同发育阶段的表...     

粗梗水蕨营养期和生殖期微RNA的测定与分析

miRNA控制着开花植物从营养期到生殖期的转变,但这种机制的进化仍不得而知。蕨类植物是陆地植物进化的重要环节,本研究分别测定了粗梗水蕨营养期和生殖期的小RNA,鉴定了42个保守的miRNA,并证实了miR397等7个miRNA最早出现在蕨类植物。miR156在粗梗水蕨的生殖期表达下调,而其SPL靶基因与此同时表达上调。miR172则在生殖期表达上调,并同时有其AP2-like靶基因下调的现象。miR171和miR159的积累水平也发生了变化,因此miRNA控制生长时期转变的机制应该出现在原始的真叶植物中。miR160/166/319/394可能与粗梗水蕨可育叶向下内卷的形态有关。粗梗水蕨能产生tasiR-ARF,从而表明miR390-TAS3-ARF的通路第1次出现于蕨类植物。     

落叶松体胚发育中5个miRNA前体与成熟体的表达

利用同源比对或RACE克隆了5个落叶松(Larix leptolepis) miRNA前体。结果显示, 在各物种miRNA前体间, 成熟序列高度相似, 但其它序列相似度差异大, 序列相似度与亲缘关系有关。采用qRT-PCR分析了5个miRNA、前体和靶基因在落叶松体胚8个发育阶段的表达变化。结果显示, miRNA表达最高峰出现在后期子叶胚, 暗示与促进胚胎休眠有关; 表达次高峰出现时期不同, 表现为miR397和miR408在PEMIII, miR398在早期单胚, miR156和miR166在早期子叶胚, 表明其与保持薄细胞壁、质子传递、顶端分生组织形成等调控有关。miRNA成熟体表达与前体含量不呈线性相关, 可能受多重调控。研究结果对于阐明MIR基因进化、表达调控及在体胚发育中的调控功能具有重要理论意义。     

鸡miR-9不同组织表达差异及其功能预测分析

miRNA在动物生长发育过程中有重要作用. 本文采用定制茎环反转录引物,利用实时荧光定量PCR技术构建miR-9在鸡2个阶段11个组织中的表达谱,同时用TargetScan5.1与PicTar两种计算方法对其进行靶基因预测,交集的基因集合分别进行GO（gene ontology）富集分析和生物通路富集分析. 结果表明,采用实时定量PCR检测的miR-9在鸡下丘脑中的表达量和高通量测序结果一致;采用实时定量PCR在对不同组织定量结果表明,miR-9在0日龄鸡的肾脏、下丘脑、腿肌和大脑中高丰度表达,在成年鸡表达量较高为大脑、腿肌、心脏、小脑和下丘脑.在同一组织的0日龄和成年鸡中表达呈现时序性,除肝脏的表达量差异不显著,其他10个组织miR-9表达量差异显著（P<0.05）.预测到交集靶基因有160个.涉及到多个KEGG通路和GO富集中.GO分类结果显示,这些基因分布于63个群中,其中基因超过45个基因群集有26个群,与代谢有关的群有11个. 其它与发育、调控等过程有关. 在KEGG通路分析中,显著的通路有细胞骨架调控、细胞增殖和分化有关的通路（P<0.01）等5个通路. 表明miR 9基因的表达有组织和时序特异性,靶基因参与细胞代谢、生长发育和调控.这些结果为进一步验证miR 9基因在在脑中调控生长发育过程中的作用奠定了基础.     

应用高通量测序技术检测与奶牛乳产量和乳质量调控相关的miRNA

本实验将中国荷斯坦牛泌乳期高乳品质奶牛（H）和泌乳期低乳品质奶牛（L）乳腺组织作为实验对象,利用高通量测序技术进行了miRNA测序,与miRNA数据库比对,获得已知miRNA,整合miREvo和mirDeep2这两个miRNA预测软件,进行新miRNA分析,通过差异表达分析筛选组间差异miRNAs,获得56个差异表达miRNA(P <0.05,FDRq <0.05)并对差异表达miRNA进行靶基因预测;利用DAVID对靶基因进行GO(Gene Ontology)和信号通路富集分析。经过对靶基因筛选,发现了4个已报道与乳蛋白、乳脂紧密相关的功能基因：CSN3、SCD、LALBA和DGAT2。靶基因聚集的生物学功能多数参与了蛋白质和脂肪代谢,乳腺发育和分化,以及免疫功能。靶基因主要富集在MAPK 信号通路、甘油磷酸脂质代谢、缺氧诱导因子1和磷脂酰肌醇3激酶 蛋白激酶B信号转导通路。结果显示,靶基因主要富集在糖类代谢、脂肪代谢、蛋白质代谢、细胞凋亡以及免疫相关通路。     

MicroRNA与肿瘤相关的信号转导通路

信号转导通路在细胞代谢、生长、增殖、应激、发育和凋亡等生命活动中具有极为重要的作用。干扰这些通路将可能影响细胞的正常发育, 甚至导致肿瘤。MicroRNA(miRNA)是近年来在真核生物中发现的、在转录后水平负调节基因表达的一类长度约22个核苷酸的非编码小RNA, 其靶基因数目众多, 生物学功能广泛。在多种肿瘤中发现了miRNA的异常表达, 提示后者与肿瘤发生有关, 可能机制为调控癌基因或肿瘤抑制基因的表达。此外亦发现miRNA的靶基因有许多作用于肿瘤相关的信号转导通路。miRNA在肿瘤发生过程中的重要调控功能预示其将成为人类癌症诊断和治疗方面的新星。     

microRNA-223在动脉粥样硬化发生过程中的网络调控机制

microRNA-223（miR‐223）是参与动脉粥样硬化（atherosclerosis,AS）炎性调控、细胞生长等通路的微小非编码RNA。本研究系统地探究miR‐223及其靶基因的网络调控机制,以便全面理解 miR‐223在 AS中的作用。利用 miRNA靶基因预测数据库 miRDB、miRmap 、TargetScan和miRTarBase 获取miR‐223的靶基因集。R语言分析基因表达综合数据库（gene expression omnibus,GEO）共享平台动脉粥样硬化斑块差异表达基因集（GSE100927）,筛选出斑块差异表达基因,并与miR‐223靶基因集交叉匹配。利用基因本体（gene ontology,GO）及基因组数据库（kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes,KEGG）分析研究差异表达基因功能。结果显示,斑块中下调的1 584个差异表达基因与miR‐223靶基因交叉匹配得到422个交集mRNA。GO及KEGG富集分析发现miR-223可能通过细胞生长、炎症反应以及血管平滑肌收缩等信号通路调节动脉粥样硬化斑块的发生发展过程。蛋白相互作用网络（protein‐protein interaction networks,PPI）分析获得关键节点基因是INADL、JAM3、SMTN、LDB3、YAP1、TJP1、NCKAP1、PDLIM3、MICAL2和MPP5,其中YAP1也与铜死亡相关。我们还发现miR-223可能直接靶向GLS、GCSH调控铜死亡,参与动脉粥样硬化的发生发展过程。本研究表明,miR‐223主要通过调控细胞生长、铜死亡等相关信号通路影响动脉粥样硬化的各个进程。     

Dynamic Regulation of Novel and Conserved miRNAs Across Various Tissues of Diverse Cucurbit Species

MicroRNA genes (miRNAs) encoding small non-coding RNAs are abundant in plant genomes and play a key role in regulating several biological mechanisms. Five conserved miRNAs, miR156, miR168-1, miR168-2, miR164, and miR166 were selected for analysis from the 21 known plant miRNA families that were recovered from deep sequencing data of small RNA libraries of pumpkin and squash. A total of six novel miRNAs that were not reported before were found to have precursors with reliable fold-back structures and hence considered novel and were designated as cuc_nov_miRNAs. A set of five conserved, six novel miRNAs, and five uncharacterized small RNAs from the deep sequencing data were profiled for their dynamic regulation using qPCR. The miRNAs were evaluated for differential regulation across the tissues among four diverse cucurbit species, including pumpkin and squash (Cucurbita moschata Duch. Ex Poir. and Cucurbita pepo L.), bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.), and Luffa (Loofah) (Luffa acutangula Roxb.). Expression analysis revealed differential regulation of various miRNAs in leaf, stem, and fruit tissues. Importantly, differences in the expression levels were also found in the leaves and fruits of closely related C. moschata and C. pepo. Comparative miRNA profiling and expression analysis in four cucurbits led to identification of conserved miRNAs in cucurbits. Predicted targets for two of the conserved miRNAs suggested miRNAs are involved in regulating similar biological mechanisms in various species of cucurbits.     

Response of miRNAs and their targets to salt and drought stresses in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an important gene regulator, controlling almost all biological and metabolic processes, in both plants and animals. In this study, we investigated the effect of drought and salinity stress on the expression of miRNAs and their targets in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Our results show that the expression change of miRNAs and their targets were dose-dependent and tissue-dependent under salinity and drought conditions. The expression of miRNAs in leaf was down-regulated under higher salinity stress while shows variable patterns in other conditions. The highest fold-changes of miRNAs were miR398 in roots with 28.9 fold down-regulation under 0.25% NaCl treatment and miR395 in leaves with 7.6 fold down-regulation under 1% PEG treatment. The highest up-regulation of miRNA targets was AST in roots with 4.7 fold-change under 2.5% PEG and the gene with highest down-regulation was CUC1 in leaves with 25.6 fold-change under 0.25% NaCl treatment. Among seven miRNA-target pairs we studied, five pairs, miR156–SPL2, miR162–DCL1, miR159–TCP3, miR395–APS1 and miR396–GRF1, show significant regulation relationship in roots and leaves under salinity stress concentration.     

响应盐胁迫调控的露地菊miR398a的克隆及功能研究

miRNAs在非生物胁迫中起着重要的作用。通过前期对露地菊Small RNA高通量测序数据测得到miR398a成熟体和前体序列,命名为cgr-miR398a和cgr-MIR398a。序列对比显示,cgr-miR398a与其他植物中已经鉴定的miR398a序列高度保守;利用前期露地菊降解组数据获得miR398a预测的靶基因,cgr-miR398a根和叶中的靶基因共有18个,其中有铜/锌超氧化物歧化酶（CSD2）、铜伴侣蛋白（CCS）、类A20/AN1-l锌指家族蛋白（SAP8）等与抗性相关的基因。qPCR结果显示盐胁迫下露地菊miR398a及靶基因在不同组织部位的表达水平存在显著的负相关性。为探究cgr-miR398a响应盐胁迫的功能,克隆cgr-MIR398a并构建过表达载体转化拟南芥。结果表明,拟南芥中过表达cgr-MIR398a降低了盐胁迫下种子发芽率以及成苗期的抗盐性,说明cgr-miR398a在拟南芥响应盐胁迫中起着负调控作用。这为进一步研究露地菊mi398a的功能和露地菊的抗盐机理奠定了基础。     

萱草microRNAs生物信息学及与冷冻相关microRNAs的分析

microRNA是一类长度为16-29nt的非蛋白质编码的内源小分子RNA（sRNA）,在植物生长发育以及逆境胁迫响应等过程中发挥着重要作用。本文利用基于HiSeq原理的sRNA深度测序技术,结合生物信息学方法对萱草根系中已知miRNA的类型、丰度以及部分与冷冻胁迫相关的已知miRNA的功能进行了分析。结果表明,在10℃常温和2-5℃低温条件下萱草根系中分别有14843184和16072575条序列信息,代表14064385和15309725种sRNA片段,且sRNA均呈现正态分布特征;在非编码RNA中转运RNA（tRNA）、核糖体RNA（rRNA）所占比例较大。低温sRNA组中得到注释的sRNA有67411种,共计799994条sRNAff／段;常温NsRNA组中,得到注释的sRNA有66524种,共计1055466条sRNA片段。冷冻胁迫下,萱草通过提高miR393、miR397、miR396的表达量和降4NmiR319的表达量来增强其抗冻性。本研究为后续揭示萱草低温应答蛋白合成的调控机理,筛选抗冻关键调控基因提供了丰富的数据。     

Identification of Nitrogen Starvation-Responsive MicroRNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana

microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of negative regulators that take part in many processes such as growth and development, stress responses, and metabolism in plants. Recently, miRNAs were shown to function in plant nutrient metabolism. Moreover, several miRNAs were identified in the response to nitrogen (N) deficiency. To investigate the functions of other miRNAs in N deficiency, deep sequencing technology was used to detect the expression of small RNAs under N-sufficient and -deficient conditions. The results showed that members from the same miRNA families displayed differential expression in response to N deficiency. Upon N starvation, the expression of miR169, miR171, miR395, miR397, miR398, miR399, miR408, miR827, and miR857 was repressed, whereas those of miR160, miR780, miR826, miR842, and miR846 were induced. miR826, a newly identified N-starvation-induced miRNA, was found to target the AOP2 gene. Among these N-starvation-responsive miRNAs, several were involved in cross-talk among responses to different nutrient (N, P, S, Cu) deficiencies. miR160, miR167, and miR171 could be responsible for the development of Arabidopsis root systems under N-starvation conditions. In addition, twenty novel miRNAs were identified and nine of them were significantly responsive to N-starvation. This study represents comprehensive expression profiling of N-starvation-responsive miRNAs and advances our understanding of the regulation of N homeostasis mediated by miRNAs.     

Identification and validation of Asteraceae miRNAs by the expressed sequence tag analysis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that play a vital role in the regulation of gene expression. Despite their identification in hundreds of plant species, few miRNAs have been identified in the Asteraceae, a large family that comprises approximately one tenth of all flowering plants. In this study, we used the expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis to identify potential conserved miRNAs and their putative target genes in the Asteraceae. We applied quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) to confirm the expression of eight potential miRNAs in Carthamus tinctorius and Helianthus annuus. We also performed qRT-PCR analysis to investigate the differential expression pattern of five newly identified miRNAs during five different cotyledon growth stages in safflower. Using these methods, we successfully identified and characterized 151 potentially conserved miRNAs, belonging to 26 miRNA families, in 11 genus of Asteraceae. EST analysis predicted that the newly identified conserved Asteraceae miRNAs target 130 total protein-coding ESTs in sunflower and safflower, as well as 433 additional target genes in other plant species. We experimentally confirmed the existence of seven predicted miRNAs, (miR156, miR159, miR160, miR162, miR166, miR396, and miR398) in safflower and sunflower seedlings. We also observed that five out of eight miRNAs are differentially expressed during cotyledon development. Our results indicate that miRNAs may be involved in the regulation of gene expression during seed germination and the formation of the cotyledons in the Asteraceae. The findings of this study might ultimately help in the understanding of miRNA-mediated gene regulation in important crop species.