title: MicroRNAs Are Involved in the Regulation of Ovary Development in the Pathogenic Blood Fluke Schistosoma japonicum.
abstract: Schistosomes, blood flukes, are an important global public health concern. Paired adult female schistosomes produce large numbers of eggs that are primarily responsible for the disease pathology and critical for dissemination. Consequently, understanding schistosome sexual maturation and egg production may open novel perspectives for intervening with these processes to prevent clinical symptoms and to interrupt the life-cycle of these blood-flukes. microRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of many biological processes including development, cell proliferation, metabolism, and signal transduction. Here, we report on the identification of Schistosoma japonicum miRNAs using small RNA deep sequencing in the key stages of male-female pairing, gametogenesis, and egg production. We identified 38 miRNAs, including 10 previously unknown miRNAs. Eighteen of the miRNAs were differentially expressed between male and female schistosomes and during different stages of sexual maturation. We identified 30 potential target genes for 16 of the S. japonicum miRNAs using antibody-based pull-down assays and bioinformatic analyses. We further validated some of these target genes using either in vitro luciferase assays or in vivo miRNA suppression experiments. Notably, suppression of the female enriched miRNAs bantam and miR-31 led to morphological alteration of ovaries in female schistosomes. These findings uncover key roles for specific miRNAs in schistosome sexual maturation and egg production.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lihui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiangping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jianbin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jinbiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chunjing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Juntao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiaojiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Youxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America.
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Guofeng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D010053:Ovary / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000473:pathology*; D011817:Rabbits; D012549:Schistosoma japonicum / Q000235:genetics*; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000235:genetics*; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA / Q000379:methods; D012733:Sex Differentiation
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs