Bombyx mori miR-2845 represses the expression of fibroin light chain gene both in vitro and in vivo

PLoS One. 2021 Dec 16;16(12):e0261391. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261391. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

To study the regulatory function of Bombyx mori (B. mori) miRNAs (bmo-miR) on the expression of fibroin light chain gene (BmFib-L), the 3'UTR of BmFib-L mRNA was used as the target for online prediction of miRNAs from miRBase using RNAhybrid Software, and miR-2845 was screened out. First, the expression profiles of miR-2845 and BmFib-L in larvae of the 5th instar were analyzed by Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Then recombinant plasmids (pcDNA3.0-pre-miR-2845 and pGL3.0-BmFib-L) were constructed to use for the expression of miR-2845 and BmFib-L 3'UTR, respectively. Cellular-level functional verification of miR-2845 on BmFib-L was carried out using multiple experimental methods (including dual luciferase reporter vectors, artificially synthesized mimics and inhibitors, and target site mutations). Finally, in vivo functional verification was performed by injecting the recombinant vector in 5th instar larvae. BmFib-L expression levels were detected using RT-qPCR in the posterior silk glands (PSG) of the injected larvae. Results showed that the expression of miR-2845 increased between the 1st and 5th day in 5th instar larvae, but began to decline on the 5th day, while the expression of the target gene BmFib-L increased sharply. This suggests that miR-2845 and BmFib-L expression levels show opposing trends, implying a negative regulatory relationship. In BmN cells, miR-2845 significantly down-regulated the expression of BmFib-L; the inhibitory effect of miR-2845 on BmFib-L was disappeared after mutation of the targeting site on 3'UTR of BmFib-L; in individuals, miR-2845 significantly down-regulated BmFib-L expression levels. Our results provide new experimental data for clarifying the molecular regulation mechanism of silk protein expression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • 3' Untranslated Regions
  • Animals
  • Bombyx / genetics
  • China
  • Computational Biology / methods
  • Fibroins / genetics*
  • Fibroins / metabolism
  • Gene Expression / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation / genetics
  • Insect Proteins / genetics*
  • Insect Proteins / metabolism
  • Larva / genetics
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • 3' Untranslated Regions
  • Insect Proteins
  • L-chain, fibroin protein, insect
  • MicroRNAs
  • Transcription Factors
  • fibroin, silkworm
  • Fibroins

Grants and funding

this work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 32072791), the Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation (No. BK20191226), and the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (No. SJCX20_1493).