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Construction and detection of expression vectors of microRNA-9a in BmN cells

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Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous RNAs molecules, approximately 21–23 nucleotides in length, which regulate gene expression by base-pairing with 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs) of target mRNAs. However, the functions of only a few miRNAs in organisms are known. Recently, the expression vector of artificial miRNA has become a promising tool for gene function studies. Here, a method for easy and rapid construction of eukaryotic miRNA expression vector was described. The cytoplasmic actin 3 (A3) promoter and flanked sequences of miRNA-9a (miR-9a) precursor were amplified from genomic DNA of the silkworm (Bombyx mori) and was inserted into pCDNA3.0 vector to construct a recombinant plasmid. The enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene was used as reporter gene. The Bombyx mori N (BmN) cells were transfected with recombinant miR-9a expression plasmid and were harvested 48 h post transfection. Total RNAs of BmN cells transfected with recombinant vectors were extracted and the expression of miR-9a was evaluated by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Northern blot. Tests showed that the recombinant miR-9a vector was successfully constructed and the expression of miR-9a with EGFP was detected.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212018, China

    Yong Huang, Sheng-peng Wang, Shun-ming Tang, Guo-zheng Zhang & Xing-jia Shen

  2. School of Information Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Quan Zou

  3. Sericultural Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang, 212018, China

    Yong Huang, Sheng-peng Wang, Shun-ming Tang, Guo-zheng Zhang & Xing-jia Shen

  4. Animal Science and Technology College, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471003, China

    Yong Huang

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  1. Yong Huang
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  2. Quan Zou
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  3. Sheng-peng Wang
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Project supported by the National Basic Research Program (973) of China (No. 2005CB121004), the National High-Tech R & D Program (863) of China (No. 2006AA10A119), the Innovation Foundation for Graduate Students of Jiangsu Province, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61001013)

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Huang, Y., Zou, Q., Wang, Sp. et al. Construction and detection of expression vectors of microRNA-9a in BmN cells. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B 12, 527–533 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1000296

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1000296

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