title: Changes in microRNA abundance may regulate diapause in the flesh fly, Sarcophaga bullata.
abstract: Diapause, an alternative developmental pathway characterized by changes in developmental timing and metabolism, is coordinated by molecular mechanisms that are not completely understood. MicroRNA (miRNA) mediated gene silencing is emerging as a key component of animal development and may have a significant role in initiating, maintaining, and terminating insect diapause. In the present study, we test this possibility by using high-throughput sequencing and qRT-PCR to discover diapause-related shifts in miRNA abundance in the flesh fly, Sarcophaga bullata. We identified ten evolutionarily conserved miRNAs that were differentially expressed in diapausing pupae compared to their nondiapausing counterparts. miR-289-5p and miR-1-3p were overexpressed in diapausing pupae and may be responsible for silencing expression of candidate genes during diapause. miR-9c-5p, miR-13b-3p, miR-31a-5p, miR-92b-3p, miR-275-3p, miR-276a-3p, miR-277-3p, and miR-305-5p were underexpressed in diapausing pupae and may contribute to increased expression of heat shock proteins and other factors necessary for the enhanced environmental stress-response that is a feature of diapause. In S. bullata, a maternal effect blocks the programming of diapause in progeny of females that have experienced pupal diapause, and in this study we report that several miRNAs, including miR-263a-5p, miR-100-5p, miR-125-5p, and let-7-5p were significantly overexpressed in such nondiapausing flies and may prevent entry into diapause. Together these miRNAs appear to be integral to the molecular processes that mediate entry into diapause.
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210, USA. Electronic address: reynolds.473@osu.edu.
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210, USA.
authors.forename: Justin T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Peyton
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210, USA; Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210, USA.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Denlinger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D064666:Diapause, Insect; D005260:Female; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D011679:Pupa / Q000378:metabolism; D058493:Sarcophagidae / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Epigenetics; Insects; Maternal effect; Seasonality