title: Comparative profiling of microRNAs in the winged and wingless English grain aphid, Sitobion avenae (F.) (Homoptera: Aphididae).
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short single-stranded non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression, particularly during development. In this study, 345 miRNAs were identified from the English green aphid, Sitobion avenae (F.), of which 168 were conserved and 177 were S. avenae-specific. Quantitative comparison of miRNA expression levels indicated that 16 and 12 miRNAs were significantly up-regulated in winged and wingless S. avenae small RNA libraries, respectively. Differential expression of these miRNAs was confirmed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR validation. The putative transcript targets for these candidate miRNAs were predicted based on sequences from a model species Drosophila melanogaster and four aphid species Acyrthosiphon pisum, Myzus persicae, Toxoptera citricida, and Aphis gosspii. Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analyses shed light on the potential functions of these miRNAs in the regulation of genes involved in the metabolism, development and wing polyphenism of S. avenae.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Xiangrui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China.|Xinyang Agriculture and Forestry University, Xinyang, Henan 464000, China.
authors.forename: Fangmei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Corn Insects &Crop Genetics Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coates
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Yunhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA.
authors.forename: Xuguo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Dengfa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001042:Aphids / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs