title: Mosquito-specific microRNA-1174 targets serine hydroxymethyltransferase to control key functions in the gut.
abstract: Lineage-specific microRNAs (miRNAs) may contribute to functions specific to hematophagous mosquitoes and, as such, have potential for contributing to the development of future mosquito control approaches. Here we report that the mosquito- and gut-specific miRNA, miR-1174, is required for proper sugar absorption, fluid excretion, blood intake, and, consequently, egg maturation and survival in female mosquitoes. miR-1174 is highly expressed and localized in the posterior midgut, the blood-digesting portion of the mosquito alimentary canal. Depletion of miR-1174 results in severe defects in sugar absorption and blood intake. We identified serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) is a direct miR-1174 target. The adverse phenotypes caused by miR-1174 silencing were rescued by SHMT RNA interference. Our results suggest that miR-1174 is essential for fine-tuning the SHMT transcript to levels necessary for normal mosquito gut functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, The State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
authors.forename: Shiping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Graduate Program in Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics, and.
authors.forename: Keira J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521; and.
authors.forename: Sourav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Graduate Program in Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics, and.
authors.forename: Jisu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521; and alexander.raikhel@ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Raikhel
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics; D000330:Aedes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D001769:Blood; D002460:Cell Line; D004064:Digestive System / Q000378:metabolism*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D012696:Glycine Hydroxymethyltransferase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D034622:RNA Interference; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D019476:Insect Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012696:Glycine Hydroxymethyltransferase
keywords: antagomir; insect disease vector