title: MicroRNAs of the mesothorax in Qinlingacris elaeodes, an alpine grasshopper showing a wing polymorphism with unilateral wing form.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are now recognized as key post-transcriptional regulators in regulation of phenotypic diversity. Qinlingacris elaeodes is a species of the alpine grasshopper, which is endemic to China. Adult individuals have three wing forms: wingless, unilateral-winged and short-winged. This is an ideal species to investigate the phenotypic plasticity, development and evolution of insect wings because of its case of unilateral wing form in both the sexes. We sequenced a small RNA library prepared from mesothoraxes of the adult grasshoppers using the Illumina deep sequencing technology. Approximately 12,792,458 raw reads were generated, of which the 854,580 high-quality reads were used only for miRNA identification. In this study, we identified 49 conserved miRNAs belonging to 41 families and 69 species-specific miRNAs. Moreover, seven miRNA*s were detected both for conserved miRNAs and species-specific miRNAs, which were supported by hairpin forming precursors based on polymerase chain reaction. This is the first description of miRNAs in alpine grasshoppers. The results provide a useful resource for further studies on molecular regulation and evolution of miRNAs in grasshoppers. These findings not only enrich the miRNAs for insects but also lay the groundwork for the study of post-transcriptional regulation of wing forms.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology,College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University,Nanjing,China.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology,College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University,Nanjing,China.
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology,College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University,Nanjing,China.
authors.forename: Q P
authors.initials: QP
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology,College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University,Nanjing,China.
authors.forename: Y T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology,College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University,Nanjing,China.
authors.forename: X M
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology,College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University,Nanjing,China.
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Protection Resources and Pest Management of the Ministry of Education,Entomological Museum,Northwest A & F University,Yangling,China.
authors.forename: D Z
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D019295:Computational Biology; D006110:Grasshoppers / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics*; D007814:Larva; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D012313:RNA
keywords: Qinlingacris elaeodes; illumina sequencing; microRNA; unilateral wing form