title: miR-71 and miR-263 Jointly Regulate Target Genes Chitin synthase and Chitinase to Control Locust Molting.
abstract: Chitin synthase and chitinase play crucial roles in chitin biosynthesis and degradation during insect molting. Silencing of Dicer-1 results in reduced levels of mature miRNAs and severely blocks molting in the migratory locust. However, the regulatory mechanism of miRNAs in the molting process of locusts has remained elusive. In this study, we found that in chitin metabolism, two crucial enzymes, chitin synthase (CHS) and chitinase (CHT) were regulated by miR-71 and miR-263 during nymph molting. The coding sequence of CHS1 and the 3'-untranslated region of CHT10 contain functional binding sites for miR-71 and miR-263, respectively. miR-71/miR-263 displayed cellular co-localization with their target genes in epidermal cells and directly interacted with CHS1 and CHT10 in the locust integument, respectively. Injections of miR-71 and miR-263 agomirs suppressed the expression of CHS1 and CHT10, which consequently altered chitin production of new and old cuticles and resulted in a molting-defective phenotype in locusts. Unexpectedly, reduced expression of miR-71 and miR-263 increased CHS1 and CHT10 mRNA expression and led to molting defects similar to those induced by miRNA delivery. This study reveals a novel function and balancing modulation pattern of two miRNAs in chitin biosynthesis and degradation, and it provides insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms of the molting process in locusts.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China and State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Meiling
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China and State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China and State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Tianqi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Huimin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China and State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China and State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jianzhen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China and State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.|Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002686:Chitin / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002687:Chitin Synthase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D002688:Chitinases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D006110:Grasshoppers / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D018978:Molting / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D059748:Proteolysis; D034622:RNA Interference
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D002686:Chitin; D002687:Chitin Synthase; D002688:Chitinases