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Mehta TK, Penso-Dolfin L, Nash W, Roy S, Di-Palma F, Haerty W. Evolution of miRNA-Binding Sites and Regulatory Networks in Cichlids. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:msac146. [PMID: 35748824 PMCID: PMC9260339 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The divergence of regulatory regions and gene regulatory network (GRN) rewiring is a key driver of cichlid phenotypic diversity. However, the contribution of miRNA-binding site turnover has yet to be linked to GRN evolution across cichlids. Here, we extend our previous studies by analyzing the selective constraints driving evolution of miRNA and transcription factor (TF)-binding sites of target genes, to infer instances of cichlid GRN rewiring associated with regulatory binding site turnover. Comparative analyses identified increased species-specific networks that are functionally associated to traits of cichlid phenotypic diversity. The evolutionary rewiring is associated with differential models of miRNA- and TF-binding site turnover, driven by a high proportion of fast-evolving polymorphic sites in adaptive trait genes compared with subsets of random genes. Positive selection acting upon discrete mutations in these regulatory regions is likely to be an important mechanism in rewiring GRNs in rapidly radiating cichlids. Regulatory variants of functionally associated miRNA- and TF-binding sites of visual opsin genes differentially segregate according to phylogeny and ecology of Lake Malawi species, identifying both rewired, for example, clade-specific and conserved network motifs of adaptive trait associated GRNs. Our approach revealed several novel candidate regulators, regulatory regions, and three-node motifs across cichlid genomes with previously reported associations to known adaptive evolutionary traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarang K Mehta
- Regulatory and Systems Genomics, Earlham Institute (EI), Norwich, UK
| | - Luca Penso-Dolfin
- Bioinformatics Department, Silence Therapeutics GmbH, Robert-Rössle-Straße 10, Germany
| | - Will Nash
- Regulatory and Systems Genomics, Earlham Institute (EI), Norwich, UK
| | - Sushmita Roy
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, UW Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Roy Lab, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID), Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Computer Sciences, UW Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Federica Di-Palma
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
- Research and Innovation, Genome British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Wilfried Haerty
- Regulatory and Systems Genomics, Earlham Institute (EI), Norwich, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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2
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Yarani R, Shojaeian A, Palasca O, Doncheva NT, Jensen LJ, Gorodkin J, Pociot F. Differentially Expressed miRNAs in Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. Front Immunol 2022; 13:865777. [PMID: 35734163 PMCID: PMC9208551 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.865777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Differential microRNA (miRNA or miR) regulation is linked to the development and progress of many diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is well-established that miRNAs are involved in the differentiation, maturation, and functional control of immune cells. miRNAs modulate inflammatory cascades and affect the extracellular matrix, tight junctions, cellular hemostasis, and microbiota. This review summarizes current knowledge of differentially expressed miRNAs in mucosal tissues and peripheral blood of patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. We combined comprehensive literature curation with computational meta-analysis of publicly available high-throughput datasets to obtain a consensus set of miRNAs consistently differentially expressed in mucosal tissues. We further describe the role of the most relevant differentially expressed miRNAs in IBD, extract their potential targets involved in IBD, and highlight their diagnostic and therapeutic potential for future investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reza Yarani
- Translational Type 1 Diabetes Research, Department of Clinical Research, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Gentofte, Denmark
- Interventional Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Reza Yarani, ; Flemming Pociot,
| | - Ali Shojaeian
- Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
| | - Oana Palasca
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Center for Non-Coding RNA in Technology and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nadezhda T. Doncheva
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Center for Non-Coding RNA in Technology and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lars Juhl Jensen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Center for Non-Coding RNA in Technology and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jan Gorodkin
- Center for Non-Coding RNA in Technology and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Flemming Pociot
- Translational Type 1 Diabetes Research, Department of Clinical Research, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Gentofte, Denmark
- Center for Non-Coding RNA in Technology and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Copenhagen Diabetes Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Herlev University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- *Correspondence: Reza Yarani, ; Flemming Pociot,
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Anzelon TA, Chowdhury S, Hughes SM, Xiao Y, Lander GC, MacRae IJ. Structural basis for piRNA targeting. Nature 2021; 597:285-289. [PMID: 34471284 PMCID: PMC9302021 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03856-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
PIWI proteins use PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) to identify and silence transposable elements and thereby maintain genome integrity between metazoan generations1. The targeting of transposable elements by PIWI has been compared to mRNA target recognition by Argonaute proteins2,3, which use microRNA (miRNA) guides, but the extent to which piRNAs resemble miRNAs is not known. Here we present cryo-electron microscopy structures of a PIWI-piRNA complex from the sponge Ephydatia fluviatilis with and without target RNAs, and a biochemical analysis of target recognition. Mirroring Argonaute, PIWI identifies targets using the piRNA seed region. However, PIWI creates a much weaker seed so that stable target association requires further piRNA-target pairing, making piRNAs less promiscuous than miRNAs. Beyond the seed, the structure of PIWI facilitates piRNA-target pairing in a manner that is tolerant of mismatches, leading to long-lived PIWI-piRNA-target interactions that may accumulate on transposable-element transcripts. PIWI ensures targeting fidelity by physically blocking the propagation of piRNA-target interactions in the absence of faithful seed pairing, and by requiring an extended piRNA-target duplex to reach an endonucleolytically active conformation. PIWI proteins thereby minimize off-targeting cellular mRNAs while defending against evolving genomic threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Todd A Anzelon
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Saikat Chowdhury
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
| | - Siobhan M Hughes
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Yao Xiao
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Gabriel C Lander
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ian J MacRae
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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4
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Nachtigall PG, Bovolenta LA, Patton JG, Fromm B, Lemke N, Pinhal D. A comparative analysis of heart microRNAs in vertebrates brings novel insights into the evolution of genetic regulatory networks. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:153. [PMID: 33663371 PMCID: PMC7931589 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07441-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND During vertebrate evolution, the heart has undergone remarkable changes that lead to morphophysiological differences in the fully formed heart of these species, such as chamber septation, heart rate frequency, blood pressure, and cardiac output volume. Despite these differences, the heart developmental process is guided by a core gene set conserved across vertebrates. Nonetheless, the regulatory mechanisms controlling the expression of genes involved in heart development and maintenance are largely uncharted. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been described as important regulatory elements in several biological processes, including heart biology. These small RNA molecules are broadly conserved in sequence and genomic context in metazoans. Mutations may occur in miRNAs and/or genes that contribute to the establishment of distinct repertoires of miRNA-target interactions, thereby favoring the differential control of gene expression and, consequently, the origin of novel phenotypes. In fact, several studies showed that miRNAs are integrated into genetic regulatory networks (GRNs) governing specific developmental programs and diseases. However, studies integrating miRNAs in vertebrate heart GRNs under an evolutionary perspective are still scarce. RESULTS We comprehensively examined and compared the heart miRNome of 20 species representatives of the five major vertebrate groups. We found 54 miRNA families with conserved expression and a variable number of miRNA families with group-specific expression in fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. We also detected that conserved miRNAs present higher expression levels and a higher number of targets, whereas the group-specific miRNAs present lower expression levels and few targets. CONCLUSIONS Both the conserved and group-specific miRNAs can be considered modulators orchestrating the core and peripheral genes of heart GRNs of vertebrates, which can be related to the morphophysiological differences and similarities existing in the heart of distinct vertebrate groups. We propose a hypothesis to explain evolutionary differences in the putative functional roles of miRNAs in the heart GRNs analyzed. Furthermore, we present new insights into the molecular mechanisms that could be helping modulate the diversity of morphophysiology in the heart organ of vertebrate species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro G Nachtigall
- Laboratório Especial de Toxinologia Aplicada (LETA), CeTICS, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil. .,Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Institute of Biosciences of Botucatu, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil.
| | - Luiz A Bovolenta
- Department of Biophysics and Pharmacology, Institute of Biosciences of Botucatu, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil
| | - James G Patton
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA
| | - Bastian Fromm
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute (MBW), Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ney Lemke
- Department of Biophysics and Pharmacology, Institute of Biosciences of Botucatu, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil
| | - Danillo Pinhal
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Institute of Biosciences of Botucatu, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil
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5
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Dexheimer PJ, Cochella L. MicroRNAs: From Mechanism to Organism. Front Cell Dev Biol 2020; 8:409. [PMID: 32582699 PMCID: PMC7283388 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.00409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 206] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, regulatory RNAs that act as post-transcriptional repressors of gene expression in diverse biological contexts. The emergence of small RNA-mediated gene silencing preceded the onset of multicellularity and was followed by a drastic expansion of the miRNA repertoire in conjunction with the evolution of complexity in the plant and animal kingdoms. Along this process, miRNAs became an essential feature of animal development, as no higher metazoan lineage tolerated loss of miRNAs or their associated protein machinery. In fact, ablation of the miRNA biogenesis machinery or the effector silencing factors results in severe embryogenesis defects in every animal studied. In this review, we summarize recent mechanistic insight into miRNA biogenesis and function, while emphasizing features that have enabled multicellular organisms to harness the potential of this broad class of repressors. We first discuss how different mechanisms of regulation of miRNA biogenesis are used, not only to generate spatio-temporal specificity of miRNA production within an animal, but also to achieve the necessary levels and dynamics of expression. We then explore how evolution of the mechanism for small RNA-mediated repression resulted in a diversity of silencing complexes that cause different molecular effects on their targets. Multicellular organisms have taken advantage of this variability in the outcome of miRNA-mediated repression, with differential use in particular cell types or even distinct subcellular compartments. Finally, we present an overview of how the animal miRNA repertoire has evolved and diversified, emphasizing the emergence of miRNA families and the biological implications of miRNA sequence diversification. Overall, focusing on selected animal models and through the lens of evolution, we highlight canonical mechanisms in miRNA biology and their variations, providing updated insight that will ultimately help us understand the contribution of miRNAs to the development and physiology of multicellular organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luisa Cochella
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
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6
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Simkin A, Geissler R, McIntyre ABR, Grimson A. Evolutionary dynamics of microRNA target sites across vertebrate evolution. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1008285. [PMID: 32012152 PMCID: PMC7018135 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control the abundance of the majority of the vertebrate transcriptome. The recognition sequences, or target sites, for bilaterian miRNAs are found predominantly in the 3' untranslated regions (3'UTRs) of mRNAs, and are amongst the most highly conserved motifs within 3'UTRs. However, little is known regarding the evolutionary pressures that lead to loss and gain of such target sites. Here, we quantify the selective pressures that act upon miRNA target sites. Notably, selective pressure extends beyond deeply conserved binding sites to those that have undergone recent substitutions. Our approach reveals that even amongst ancient animal miRNAs, which exert the strongest selective pressures on 3'UTR sequences, there are striking differences in patterns of target site evolution between miRNAs. Considering only ancient animal miRNAs, we find three distinct miRNA groups, each exhibiting characteristic rates of target site gain and loss during mammalian evolution. The first group both loses and gains sites rarely. The second group shows selection only against site loss, with site gains occurring at a neutral rate, whereas the third loses and gains sites at neutral or above expected rates. Furthermore, mutations that alter the strength of existing target sites are disfavored. Applying our approach to individual transcripts reveals variation in the distribution of selective pressure across the transcriptome and between miRNAs, ranging from strong selection acting on a small subset of targets of some miRNAs, to weak selection on many targets for other miRNAs. miR-20 and miR-30, and many other miRNAs, exhibit broad, deeply conserved targeting, while several other comparably ancient miRNAs show a lack of selective constraint, and a small number, including mir-146, exhibit evidence of rapidly evolving target sites. Our approach adds valuable perspective on the evolution of miRNAs and their targets, and can also be applied to characterize other 3'UTR regulatory motifs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfred Simkin
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
- Department of Biology, Elon University, Elon, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Rene Geissler
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Alexa B. R. McIntyre
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Andrew Grimson
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
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7
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Dubois-Camacho K, Diaz-Jimenez D, De la Fuente M, Quera R, Simian D, Martínez M, Landskron G, Olivares-Morales M, Cidlowski JA, Xu X, Gao G, Xie J, Chnaiderman J, Soto-Rifo R, González MJ, Calixto A, Hermoso MA. Inhibition of miR-378a-3p by Inflammation Enhances IL-33 Levels: A Novel Mechanism of Alarmin Modulation in Ulcerative Colitis. Front Immunol 2019; 10:2449. [PMID: 31824476 PMCID: PMC6879552 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by mucosa damage associated with an uncontrolled inflammatory response. This immunological impairment leads to altered inflammatory mediators such as IL-33, which is shown to increase in the mucosa of active UC (aUC) patients. MicroRNAs present a distorted feature in inflamed colonic mucosa and are potential IL-33 regulating candidates in UC. Therefore, we studied the microRNA and mRNA profiles in inflamed colonic samples of UC patients, evaluating the effect of a microRNA (selected by in silico analysis and its expression in UC patients), on IL-33 under inflammatory conditions. We found that inflamed mucosa (n = 8) showed increased expression of 40 microRNAs and 2,120 mRNAs, while 49 microRNAs and 1,734 mRNAs were decreased, as determined by microarrays. In particular, IL-33 mRNA showed a 3.8-fold increase and eight members of a microRNA family (miR-378), which targets IL-33 mRNA in the 3'UTR, were decreased (-3.9 to -3.0 times). We selected three members of the miR-378 family (miR-378a-3p, miR-422a, and miR-378c) according to background information and interaction energy analysis, for further correlation analyses with IL-33 expression through qPCR and ELISA, respectively. We determined that aUC (n = 24) showed high IL-33 levels, and decreased expression of miR-378a-3p and miR-422a compared to inactive UC (n = 10) and controls (n = 6). Moreover, both microRNAs were inversely correlated with IL-33 expression, while miR-378c does not show a significant difference. To evaluate the effect of TNFα on the studied microRNAs, aUC patients with anti-TNF therapy were compared to aUC receiving other treatments. The levels of miR-378a-3p and miR-378c were higher in aUC patients with anti-TNF. Based on these findings, we selected miR-378a-3p to exploring the molecular mechanism involved by in vitro assays, showing that over-expression of miR-378a-3p decreased the levels of an IL-33 target sequence β-gal-reporter gene in HEK293 cells. Stable miR-378a-3p over-expression/inhibition inversely modulated IL-33 content and altered viability of HT-29 cells. Additionally, in an inflammatory context, TNFα decreased miR-378a-3p levels in HT-29 cells enhancing IL-33 expression. Together, our results propose a regulatory mechanism of IL-33 expression exerted by miR-378a-3p in an inflammatory environment, contributing to the understanding of UC pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Dubois-Camacho
- Innate Immunity Laboratory, Immunology Program, Faculty of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Institute, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - David Diaz-Jimenez
- Innate Immunity Laboratory, Immunology Program, Faculty of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Institute, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Laboratory of Signal Transduction, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Health, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Marjorie De la Fuente
- Innate Immunity Laboratory, Immunology Program, Faculty of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Institute, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Research Sub-direction, Academic Direction, Clínica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Rodrigo Quera
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program, Gastroenterology Department, Clínica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniela Simian
- Research Sub-direction, Academic Direction, Clínica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Maripaz Martínez
- Research Sub-direction, Academic Direction, Clínica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Glauben Landskron
- Innate Immunity Laboratory, Immunology Program, Faculty of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Institute, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Mauricio Olivares-Morales
- Innate Immunity Laboratory, Immunology Program, Faculty of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Institute, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - John A. Cidlowski
- Laboratory of Signal Transduction, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Health, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Xiaojiang Xu
- Laboratory of Integrative Bioinformatics, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Guangping Gao
- Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Jun Xie
- Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Jonás Chnaiderman
- Molecular and Cellular Virology Laboratory, Virology Program, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Ricardo Soto-Rifo
- Molecular and Cellular Virology Laboratory, Virology Program, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - María-Julieta González
- Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Andrea Calixto
- Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
- Interdisciplinary Center of Neuroscience of Valparaíso (CINV), Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Marcela A. Hermoso
- Innate Immunity Laboratory, Immunology Program, Faculty of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Institute, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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8
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Weisman NY. Genetic and Epigenetic Pathways of lethal (2) giant larvae Tumor Suppressor in Drosophila melanogaster. RUSS J GENET+ 2019. [DOI: 10.1134/s1022795419020145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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9
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Matsunami M, Nozawa M, Suzuki R, Toga K, Masuoka Y, Yamaguchi K, Maekawa K, Shigenobu S, Miura T. Caste-specific microRNA expression in termites: insights into soldier differentiation. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2019; 28:86-98. [PMID: 30126008 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Eusocial insects have polyphenic caste systems in which each caste exhibits characteristic morphology and behaviour. In insects, caste systems arose independently in different lineages, such as Isoptera and Hymenoptera. Although partial molecular mechanisms for the development of eusociality in termites have been clarified by the functional analysis of genes and hormones, the contribution of microRNAs (miRNAs) to caste differentiation is unknown. To understand the role of miRNAs in termite caste polyphenism, we performed small RNA sequencing in a subterranean termite (Reticulitermes speratus) and identified the miRNAs that were specifically expressed in the soldier and worker castes. Of the 550 miRNAs annotated in the R. speratus genome, 74 were conserved in insects and 174 were conserved in other termite species. We found that eight miRNAs (mir-1, mir-125, mir-133, mir-2765, mir-87a and three termite-specific miRNAs) are differentially expressed (DE) in soldiers and workers of R. speratus. This differential expression was experimentally verified for five miRNAs by real-time quantitative PCR. Further, four of the eight DE miRNAs in soldier and worker termite castes were also differentially expressed in hymenopteran castes. The finding that Isoptera and Hymenoptera shared several DE miRNAs amongst castes suggests that these miRNAs evolved independently in these phylogenetically distinct lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Matsunami
- Laboratory of Ecological Genetics, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara-cho, Japan
| | - M Nozawa
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Japan
| | - R Suzuki
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - K Toga
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
- Department of Biosciences, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Y Masuoka
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
- Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - K Yamaguchi
- Functional Genomics Facility, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan
| | - K Maekawa
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - S Shigenobu
- Functional Genomics Facility, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan
| | - T Miura
- Laboratory of Ecological Genetics, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- Misaki Marine Biological Station, University of Tokyo, Miura, Kanagawa, Japan
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10
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Zhao Y, Lin P, Liufu Z, Yang H, Lyu Y, Shen X, Wu CI, Tang T. Regulation of Large Number of Weak Targets-New Insights from Twin-microRNAs. Genome Biol Evol 2018; 10:1255-1264. [PMID: 29688430 PMCID: PMC5963297 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evy079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Each animal microRNA (miRNA) targets many genes for repression. Down-regulation of most of these targets is weak and has no detectable individual phenotypic effect. Whether this extensive weak repression is biologically relevant is a central issue in the debate on miRNA functionality. In the “small (target) pool” view, weak repression is nonfunctional and should be gradually removed during evolution. However, since the selective advantage of removing individual targets is small, testing this hypothesis is a challenge. We propose a novel approach by using miRNAs we call twin-miRs, which produce two mature products from the hairpin of the same miRNA precursor. Loss of the minor miR partner would affect all its targets and thus could be visible to selection. Since the minor miRs repress all their targets weakly, the “small pool” hypothesis would predict the elimination of twin-miRs over time. Surveying and sequencing 45 small RNA libraries in Drosophila, we found that nearly 40% of miRNAs produce twin-miRs. The minor forms are expressed in nontrivial abundance and repress their targets weakly. Interestingly, twin-miRs are often evolutionarily old, highly conserved, and comparable to solo-miRs in expression. Since there is no measurable trend toward reduction in target pool size, we conclude that at least some of the weak repression interactions are functional. A companion study using the May–Wigner theory of network stability suggests that distributed weak repression cumulatively contributes to stability of gene regulatory networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yixin Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Pei Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Zhongqi Liufu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Hao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yang Lyu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xu Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Chung-I Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago
| | - Tian Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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11
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Qu Z, Bendena WG, Nong W, Siggens KW, Noriega FG, Kai ZP, Zang YY, Koon AC, Chan HYE, Chan TF, Chu KH, Lam HM, Akam M, Tobe SS, Lam Hui JH. MicroRNAs regulate the sesquiterpenoid hormonal pathway in Drosophila and other arthropods. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1827. [PMID: 29237851 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Arthropods comprise the majority of all described animal species, and understanding their evolution is a central question in biology. Their developmental processes are under the precise control of distinct hormonal regulators, including the sesquiterpenoids juvenile hormone (JH) and methyl farnesoate. The control of the synthesis and mode of action of these hormones played important roles in the evolution of arthropods and their adaptation to diverse habitats. However, the precise roles of non-coding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), controlling arthropod hormonal pathways are unknown. Here, we investigated the miRNA regulation of the expression of the juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase gene (JHAMT), which encodes a rate-determining sesquiterpenoid biosynthetic enzyme. Loss of function of the miRNA bantam in the fly Drosophila melanogaster increased JHAMT expression, while overexpression of the bantam repressed JHAMT expression and resulted in pupal lethality. The male genital organs of the pupae were malformed, and exogenous sesquiterpenoid application partially rescued the genital deformities. The role of the bantam in the regulation of sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis was validated by transcriptomic, qPCR and hormone titre (JHB3 and JH III) analyses. In addition, we found a conserved set of miRNAs that interacted with JHAMT, and the sesquiterpenoid receptor methoprene-tolerant (Met) in different arthropod lineages, including insects (fly, mosquito and beetle), crustaceans (water flea and shrimp), myriapod (centipede) and chelicerate (horseshoe crab). This suggests that these miRNAs might have conserved roles in the post-transcriptional regulation of genes in sesquiterpenoid pathways across the Panarthropoda. Some of the identified lineage-specific miRNAs are potential targets for the development of new strategies in aquaculture and agricultural pest control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Qu
- School of Life Sciences, Simon F.S. Li Marine Science Laboratory, Partner State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
| | | | - Wenyan Nong
- School of Life Sciences, Simon F.S. Li Marine Science Laboratory, Partner State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
| | | | - Fernando G Noriega
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
| | - Zhen-Peng Kai
- School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang-Yang Zang
- School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, People's Republic of China
| | - Alex C Koon
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
| | - Ho Yin Edwin Chan
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
| | - Ting Fung Chan
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
| | - Ka Hou Chu
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
| | - Hon Ming Lam
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
| | - Michael Akam
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Stephen S Tobe
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada M5S 3G5
| | - Jerome Ho Lam Hui
- School of Life Sciences, Simon F.S. Li Marine Science Laboratory, Partner State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
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12
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Patel VD, Capra JA. Ancient human miRNAs are more likely to have broad functions and disease associations than young miRNAs. BMC Genomics 2017; 18:672. [PMID: 28859623 PMCID: PMC5579935 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-017-4073-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Accepted: 08/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background microRNAs (miRNAs) are essential to the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes, and improper expression of miRNAs contributes to hundreds of diseases. Despite the essential functions of miRNAs, the evolutionary dynamics of how they are integrated into existing gene regulatory and functional networks is not well understood. Knowledge of the origin and evolutionary history a gene has proven informative about its functions and disease associations; we hypothesize that incorporating the evolutionary origins of miRNAs into analyses will help resolve differences in their functional dynamics and how they influence disease. Results We computed the phylogenetic age of miRNAs across 146 species and quantified the relationship between human miRNA age and several functional attributes. Older miRNAs are significantly more likely to be associated with disease than younger miRNAs, and the number of associated diseases increases with age. As has been observed for genes, the miRNAs associated with different diseases have different age profiles. For example, human miRNAs implicated in cancer are enriched for origins near the dawn of animal multicellularity. Consistent with the increasing contribution of miRNAs to disease with age, older miRNAs target more genes than younger miRNAs, and older miRNAs are expressed in significantly more tissues. Furthermore, miRNAs of all ages exhibit a strong preference to target older genes; 93% of validated miRNA gene targets were in existence at the origin of the targeting miRNA. Finally, we find that human miRNAs in evolutionarily related families are more similar in their targets and expression profiles than unrelated miRNAs. Conclusions Considering the evolutionary origin and history of a miRNA provides useful context for the analysis of its function. Consistent with recent work in Drosophila, our results support a model in which miRNAs increase their expression and functional regulatory interactions over evolutionary time, and thus older miRNAs have increased potential to cause disease. We anticipate that these patterns hold across mammalian species; however, comprehensively evaluating them will require refining miRNA annotations across species and collecting functional data in non-human systems. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-017-4073-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vir D Patel
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.,Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, 42101, USA
| | - John A Capra
- Departments of Biological Sciences, Biomedical Informatics, and Computer Science, Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA.
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13
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Voshall A, Kim EJ, Ma X, Yamasaki T, Moriyama EN, Cerutti H. miRNAs in the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are not phylogenetically conserved and play a limited role in responses to nutrient deprivation. Sci Rep 2017; 7:5462. [PMID: 28710366 PMCID: PMC5511227 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05561-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii contains many types of small RNAs (sRNAs) but the biological role(s) of bona fide microRNAs (miRNAs) remains unclear. To address their possible function(s) in responses to nutrient availability, we examined miRNA expression in cells cultured under different trophic conditions (mixotrophic in the presence of acetate or photoautotrophic in the presence or absence of nitrogen). We also reanalyzed miRNA expression data in Chlamydomonas subject to sulfur or phosphate deprivation. Several miRNAs were differentially expressed under the various trophic conditions. However, in transcriptome analyses, the majority of their predicted targets did not show expected changes in transcript abundance, suggesting that they are not subject to miRNA-mediated RNA degradation. Mutant strains, defective in sRNAs or in ARGONAUTE3 (a key component of sRNA-mediated gene silencing), did not display major phenotypic defects when grown under multiple nutritional regimes. Additionally, Chlamydomonas miRNAs were not conserved, even in algae of the closely related Volvocaceae family, and many showed features resembling those of recently evolved, species-specific miRNAs in the genus Arabidopsis. Our results suggest that, in C. reinhardtii, miRNAs might be subject to relatively fast evolution and have only a minor, largely modulatory role in gene regulation under diverse trophic states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Voshall
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Eun-Jeong Kim
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Xinrong Ma
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Tomohito Yamasaki
- Division of Environmental Photobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
| | - Etsuko N Moriyama
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Heriberto Cerutti
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
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14
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França GS, Hinske LC, Galante PAF, Vibranovski MD. Unveiling the Impact of the Genomic Architecture on the Evolution of Vertebrate microRNAs. Front Genet 2017; 8:34. [PMID: 28377786 PMCID: PMC5359303 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2017.00034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 03/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic genomes frequently exhibit interdependency between transcriptional units, as evidenced by regions of high gene density. It is well recognized that vertebrate microRNAs (miRNAs) are usually embedded in those regions. Recent work has shown that the genomic context is of utmost importance to determine miRNA expression in time and space, thus affecting their evolutionary fates over long and short terms. Consequently, understanding the inter- and intraspecific changes on miRNA genomic architecture may bring novel insights on the basic cellular processes regulated by miRNAs, as well as phenotypic evolution and disease-related mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo S França
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ludwig C Hinske
- Department of Anesthesiology, Clinic of the University of Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Munich, Germany
| | - Pedro A F Galante
- Centro de Oncologia Molecular, Hospital Sírio-Libanês São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Maria D Vibranovski
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
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