title: High throughput sequencing of small RNAs transcriptomes in two Crassostrea oysters identifies microRNAs involved in osmotic stress response.
abstract: Increasing evidence suggests that microRNAs post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression and are involved in responses to biotic and abiotic stress. However, the role of miRNAs involved in osmotic plasticity remains largely unknown in marine bivalves. In the present study, we performed low salinity challenge with two Crassostrea species (C. gigas and C. hongkongensis), and conducted high-throughput sequencing of four small RNA libraries constructed from the gill tissues. A total of 202 and 87 miRNAs were identified from C. gigas and C. hongkongensis, respectively. Six miRNAs in C. gigas and two in C. hongkongensis were differentially expressed in response to osmotic stress. The expression profiles of these eight miRNAs were validated by qRT-PCR. Based on GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis, genes associated with microtubule-based process and cellular component movement were enriched in both species. In addition, five miRNA-mRNA interaction pairs that showed opposite expression patterns were identified in the C. hongkongensis, Differential expression analysis identified the miRNAs that play important regulatory roles in response to low salinity stress, providing insights into molecular mechanisms that are essential for salinity tolerance in marine bivalves.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
authors.forename: Xuelin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
authors.forename: Lingfeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.|The Fish Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences and Program of Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
authors.forename: Shikai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049896:Crassostrea / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005880:Gills / Q000502:physiology; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D064587:Osmoregulation; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs