Honey bee microRNAs respond to infection by the microsporidian parasite Nosema ceranae

Qiang Huang; Yanping Chen; Rui Wu Wang; Ryan S Schwarz; Jay D Evans

doi:10.1038/srep17494

Honey bee microRNAs respond to infection by the microsporidian parasite Nosema ceranae

Sci Rep. 2015 Dec 1:5:17494. doi: 10.1038/srep17494.

Authors

Qiang Huang^{1

2}, Yanping Chen², Rui Wu Wang¹, Ryan S Schwarz², Jay D Evans²

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming, 650223, China.
² USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory, BARC-East Building 306, Beltsville, Maryland, 20705, USA.

Abstract

In order to study the effects of Nosema ceranae infection on honey bee microRNA (miRNA) expression, we deep-sequenced honey bee miRNAs daily across a full 6-day parasite reproduction cycle. Seventeen miRNAs were differentially expressed in honey bees infected by N. ceranae that potentially target over 400 genes predicted to primarily involve ion binding, signaling, the nucleus, transmembrane transport, and DNA binding. Based on Enzyme Code analysis, nine biological pathways were identified by screening target genes against the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database, seven of which involved metabolism. Our results suggest that differentially expressed miRNAs regulate metabolism related genes of host honey bees in response to N. ceranae infection.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Bees / metabolism*
Bees / microbiology*
Gene Expression Regulation*
MicroRNAs / metabolism*
Microsporidiosis / metabolism*
Nosema*

Substances

MicroRNAs