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Identification and profiling of miRNAs in the freeze-avoiding gall moth Epiblema scudderiana via next-generation sequencing

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Abstract

The rapid development of high-throughput next-generation sequencing approaches in recent years has facilitated large-scale discovery and expression analysis of non-coding RNAs, including miRNAs, in traditional and non-traditional animal models. Such an approach has been leveraged to amplify, identify, and quantify miRNAs in several models of cold adaptation. The present study is the first to investigate the status of these small RNAs in an insect species that uses the freeze avoidance strategy of cold hardiness, the gall moth Epiblema scudderiana. To characterize the overall miRNA expression profile and to identify cold-modulated miRNAs in control (5 °C) and cold-exposed (−15 °C) E. scudderiana larvae, a next-generation sequencing-based approach was undertaken. A total of 44 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified between the two conditions; 21 up-regulated miRNAs and 23 down-regulated miRNAs in −15 °C-exposed larvae as compared with controls. Among the most significant changes observed in miRNAs with potential relevance to cold adaptation were elevated miR-1-3p, miR-92b-3p, and miR-133-3p levels as well as reduced miR-13a-3p and miR-13b-3p levels in E. scudderiana larvae exposed to cold temperatures. Expression values obtained from next-generation sequencing were also validated by a quantitative PCR approach for five miRNAs; miR-34-5p, miR-274-5p, miR-275-3p, miR-307a-3p, and miR-316-5p. Overall, this work provides the first description of a miRNA signature for subzero survival by a freeze-avoiding insect using a high-throughput approach and positions a new group of miRNAs at the forefront of the molecular changes underlying cold adaptation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank J. M. Storey for editorial review of the manuscript. This work was supported by a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN/402222-2012) awarded to P. J. M.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Université de Moncton, 18 Antonine-Maillet Avenue, Moncton, NB, E1A 3E9, Canada

    Pierre J. Lyons & Pier Jr Morin

  2. Atlantic Cancer Research Institute, Pavillon Hôtel-Dieu 35 Providence Street, Moncton, NB, E1C 8X3, Canada

    Nicolas Crapoulet

  3. Institute of Biochemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada

    Kenneth B. Storey

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  1. Pierre J. Lyons
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Correspondence to Pier Jr Morin.

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Lyons, P.J., Crapoulet, N., Storey, K.B. et al. Identification and profiling of miRNAs in the freeze-avoiding gall moth Epiblema scudderiana via next-generation sequencing. Mol Cell Biochem 410, 155–163 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-015-2547-3

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