title: Wolbachia-induced aae-miR-12 miRNA negatively regulates the expression of MCT1 and MCM6 genes in Wolbachia-infected mosquito cell line.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Best recognized for its role in manipulating host reproduction, the parasitic gram-negative Wolbachia pipientis is known to colonize a wide range of invertebrates. The endosymbiotic bacterium has recently been shown to cause a life-shortening effect as well as inhibiting replication of arboviruses in Aedes aegypti; although the molecular mechanisms behind these effects are largely unknown. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been determined to have a wide range of roles in regulating gene expression in eukaryotes. A recent study showed that several A. aegypti mosquito miRNAs are differentially expressed when infected with Wolbachia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on the prior knowledge that one of these miRNAs, aae-miR-12, is differentially expressed in mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia, we aimed to determine any significance of this mediation. We also set out to characterize the target genes of this miRNA in the A. aegpyti genome. Bioinformatic approaches predicted a list of potential target genes and subsequent functional analyses confirmed that two of these, DNA replication licensing (MCM6) and monocarboxylate transporter (MCT1), are under the regulative control of aae-miR-12. We also demonstrated that aae-miR-12 is critical in the persistence of Wolbachia in the host cell.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study has identified two target genes of aae-miR-12, a differentially expressed mosquito miRNA in Wolbachia-infected cells, and determined that the miRNA affects Wolbachia density in the host cells.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Solomon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Osei-Amo
authors.forename: Mazhar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: Scott L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: Sassan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asgari
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D019295:Computational Biology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D027501:Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D061987:Sf9 Cells; D018411:Spodoptera; D027981:Symporters / Q000378:metabolism; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D000099233:Monocarboxylate Transport Protein 1
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D027501:Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters; D027981:Symporters; D000099233:Monocarboxylate Transport Protein 1