Identification and profiling of sex-biased microRNAs from sea urchin Strongylocentrotus nudus gonad by Solexa deep sequencing.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by post-transcriptional repression of messenger RNA. The echinoderm, Strongylocentrotus nudus, is an excellent model organism for studying development and commercially important as a food source. However, to date no miRNAs have been reported to modulate sex gonad differentiation in S. nudus. In this study, we constructed two small RNA libraries from male and female S. nudus gonad respectively for Solexa sequencing. A total of 184 miRNAs including 60 known and 124 novel miRNAs were identified from the two libraries. Furthermore, the nucleotide bias and end variation of the known miRNAs were also analyzed. In addition, 67 differently expressed of the 86 co-expressed and 98 gender-specific (47 male-specific and 51 female-specific) miRNAs that may be involved in sexual differentiation were found by comparing the miRNA expression profiles in the two libraries. This study reveals the first miRNA profile related to the gonad differentiation of the S. nudus. This study gives a first insight into sex differences in miRNA expression of sea urchin which could facilitate studies of the reproductive organ-specific roles of miRNAs.
College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Agriculture, Yangling 712100, China.
Xiao
X
Mi
Biological Science Department, Dezhou University, Dezhou, Shandong 253023, China.
Zhenlin
Z
Wei
Liaoning Key Lab of Marine Fishery Molecular Biology, Liaoning Ocean and Fisheries Science Research Institute, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, China.
Zunchun
Z
Zhou
College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Agriculture, Yangling 712100, China. Electronic address: liuxiaolin@nwsuaf.edu.cn.
Xiaolin
X
Liu
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006066:Gonads / Q000378:metabolism*; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000235:genetics*; D012737:Sex Factors
D035683:MicroRNAs
Gonad; MicroRNA; Sex differentiation; Solexa deep sequencing; Strongylocentrotus nudus