Despite its efficacy against malaria, the relatively low yield （0.01%-0.8%） of artemisinin in Artemisia annua is a serious limitation to the commercialization of the drug. A better understanding of the biosynthetic ...Despite its efficacy against malaria, the relatively low yield （0.01%-0.8%） of artemisinin in Artemisia annua is a serious limitation to the commercialization of the drug. A better understanding of the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin and its regulation by both exogenous and endogenous factors is essential to improve artemisinin yield. Increasing evidence has shown that microRNAs （miRNAs） play multiple roles in various biological processes. In this study, we used previously known miRNAs from Arabidopsis and rice against expressed sequence tag （EST） database of A. annua to search for potential miRNAs and their targets in A. annua. A total of six potential rniRNAs were predicted, which belong to the miR414 and miR1310 families. Furthermore, eight potential target genes were identified in this species. Among them, seven genes encode proteins that play important roles in artemisinin biosynthesis, including HMG-CoA reductase （HMGR）, amorpha-4,11-diene synthase （ADS）, farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase （FPS） and cytochrome P450. In addition, a gene coding for putative AINTEGUMENTA, which is involved in signal transduction and development, was also predicted as one of the targets. This is the first in silico study to indicate that miRNAs target genes encoding enzymes involved in artemisinin biosynthesis, which may help to understand the miRNA-mediated regulation of artemisinin biosynthesis in A. annua.展开更多
MicroRNAs （miRNAs）, evolutionarily conserved non-coding RNAs in length 21-24 bp, play a critical role in skeletal muscle development. In this study, to explore the function of mircoRNA-127 in porcine skeletal muscle...MicroRNAs （miRNAs）, evolutionarily conserved non-coding RNAs in length 21-24 bp, play a critical role in skeletal muscle development. In this study, to explore the function of mircoRNA-127 in porcine skeletal muscle development, eight tissue samples from adult pigs and longissimus muscle samples at 26 developmental stages were collected from Tongcheng and Landrace pigs. The spatial-temporal expression proifles of miRNA-127 were carried out using step-loop quantitative real-time PCR （stem-loop RT-PCR）. To explore the molecular functions of miRNA-127, we predicted its target genes and performed functional annotation using bioinformatics methods. Results suggested that miRNA-127 was abundantly expressed in heart, ovary, uterus and spleen tissues and was weakly expressed in liver, lung, kidney and small intestine in both Tongcheng and Landrace pigs. And miRNA-127 showed signiifcant expression differences in heart, ovary, spleen and uterus tissues between these two breeds. miRNA-127 basically kept at a relatively stable high level in middle and later embryonic stages and a low expression level in early embryonic stages and postnatal stages, but the expression levels of miRNA-127 were higher in Tongcheng pigs than in Landrace at most developmental stages. miRNA-127 potentially regulated 240 candidate genes. Results of Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analysis indicated that these genes could be involved in many molecular functions and mechanisms, such as regulation of the force of heart contraction, regulation of transcription, regulation of T cell differentiation, MAPK signaling pathway and GnRH signaling pathway. Many signiifcantly enriched GO terms and KEGG pathways were related to skeletal muscle development. This study will be helpful to understand the biological function for miRNA-127 and identify candidate gene associated with meat production traits in pigs.展开更多
microRNAs(miRNAs)are 20–24 nucleotide(nt)RNAs that regulate eukaryotic gene expression post-transcriptionally by the degradation or translational inhibition of their target messenger RNAs(mRNAs).To identify miRNA tar...microRNAs(miRNAs)are 20–24 nucleotide(nt)RNAs that regulate eukaryotic gene expression post-transcriptionally by the degradation or translational inhibition of their target messenger RNAs(mRNAs).To identify miRNA target genes will help a lot by understanding their biological functions.Sophisticated computational approaches for miRNA target prediction,and effective biological techniques for validating these targets now play a central role in elucidating their functions.Owing to the imperfect complementarity of animal miRNAs with their targets,it is difficult to judge the accuracy of the prediction.Complexity of regulation by miRNA-mediated targets at protein and mRNAs levels has made it more challenging to identify the targets.To date,only a few miRNAs targets are confirmed.In this article,we review the methods of miRNA target prediction and the experimental validation for their corresponding mRNA targets in animals.展开更多
MicroRNAs （miRNAs）, a class of ～20-24 nt long non-coding RNAs, have critical roles in diverse biological processes including devel- opment, proliferation, stress response, etc. With the development and availability...MicroRNAs （miRNAs）, a class of ～20-24 nt long non-coding RNAs, have critical roles in diverse biological processes including devel- opment, proliferation, stress response, etc. With the development and availability of experimental technologies and computational approaches, the field of miRNA biology has advanced tremendously over the last decade. By sequence complementarity, miRNAs have been estimated to regulate certain mRNA transcripts. Although it was once thought to be simple and straightforward to find plant miR NA targets, this viewpoint is being challenged by genetic and biochemical studies. In this review, we summarize recent progress in plant miRNA target recognition mechanisms, principles of target prediction, and introduce current experimental and computational tools for plant miRNA target prediction. At the end, we also present our thinking on the outlook for future directions in the development of plant miRNA target finding methods.展开更多
文摘Despite its efficacy against malaria, the relatively low yield （0.01%-0.8%） of artemisinin in Artemisia annua is a serious limitation to the commercialization of the drug. A better understanding of the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin and its regulation by both exogenous and endogenous factors is essential to improve artemisinin yield. Increasing evidence has shown that microRNAs （miRNAs） play multiple roles in various biological processes. In this study, we used previously known miRNAs from Arabidopsis and rice against expressed sequence tag （EST） database of A. annua to search for potential miRNAs and their targets in A. annua. A total of six potential rniRNAs were predicted, which belong to the miR414 and miR1310 families. Furthermore, eight potential target genes were identified in this species. Among them, seven genes encode proteins that play important roles in artemisinin biosynthesis, including HMG-CoA reductase （HMGR）, amorpha-4,11-diene synthase （ADS）, farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase （FPS） and cytochrome P450. In addition, a gene coding for putative AINTEGUMENTA, which is involved in signal transduction and development, was also predicted as one of the targets. This is the first in silico study to indicate that miRNAs target genes encoding enzymes involved in artemisinin biosynthesis, which may help to understand the miRNA-mediated regulation of artemisinin biosynthesis in A. annua.
基金supported by the National Key Project (2013ZX08009-001)the National Basic Research Program of China (2012CB124706-6)the Agricul tural Science and Technology Innovation Program (ASTIP-IAS05)
文摘MicroRNAs （miRNAs）, evolutionarily conserved non-coding RNAs in length 21-24 bp, play a critical role in skeletal muscle development. In this study, to explore the function of mircoRNA-127 in porcine skeletal muscle development, eight tissue samples from adult pigs and longissimus muscle samples at 26 developmental stages were collected from Tongcheng and Landrace pigs. The spatial-temporal expression proifles of miRNA-127 were carried out using step-loop quantitative real-time PCR （stem-loop RT-PCR）. To explore the molecular functions of miRNA-127, we predicted its target genes and performed functional annotation using bioinformatics methods. Results suggested that miRNA-127 was abundantly expressed in heart, ovary, uterus and spleen tissues and was weakly expressed in liver, lung, kidney and small intestine in both Tongcheng and Landrace pigs. And miRNA-127 showed signiifcant expression differences in heart, ovary, spleen and uterus tissues between these two breeds. miRNA-127 basically kept at a relatively stable high level in middle and later embryonic stages and a low expression level in early embryonic stages and postnatal stages, but the expression levels of miRNA-127 were higher in Tongcheng pigs than in Landrace at most developmental stages. miRNA-127 potentially regulated 240 candidate genes. Results of Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analysis indicated that these genes could be involved in many molecular functions and mechanisms, such as regulation of the force of heart contraction, regulation of transcription, regulation of T cell differentiation, MAPK signaling pathway and GnRH signaling pathway. Many signiifcantly enriched GO terms and KEGG pathways were related to skeletal muscle development. This study will be helpful to understand the biological function for miRNA-127 and identify candidate gene associated with meat production traits in pigs.
基金supported by research grants from the National Basic Research Program of China(973 Program)(No.2005CB121004)the National Programs for High Technology Research and Development Program of China(863 Program)(No.2006AA10A119)Innovation Foundation for Graduate Students of Jiangsu Province and the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.61001013).
文摘microRNAs(miRNAs)are 20–24 nucleotide(nt)RNAs that regulate eukaryotic gene expression post-transcriptionally by the degradation or translational inhibition of their target messenger RNAs(mRNAs).To identify miRNA target genes will help a lot by understanding their biological functions.Sophisticated computational approaches for miRNA target prediction,and effective biological techniques for validating these targets now play a central role in elucidating their functions.Owing to the imperfect complementarity of animal miRNAs with their targets,it is difficult to judge the accuracy of the prediction.Complexity of regulation by miRNA-mediated targets at protein and mRNAs levels has made it more challenging to identify the targets.To date,only a few miRNAs targets are confirmed.In this article,we review the methods of miRNA target prediction and the experimental validation for their corresponding mRNA targets in animals.
基金supported by Major State Basic Research and Development Program of China (973 Program) (Grant No. 2010CB126604)NSFC (Grant No. 61272380)+1 种基金supported by NSFC (Grant No. 61173118)the Shuguang Program of Shanghai Education Foundation
文摘MicroRNAs （miRNAs）, a class of ～20-24 nt long non-coding RNAs, have critical roles in diverse biological processes including devel- opment, proliferation, stress response, etc. With the development and availability of experimental technologies and computational approaches, the field of miRNA biology has advanced tremendously over the last decade. By sequence complementarity, miRNAs have been estimated to regulate certain mRNA transcripts. Although it was once thought to be simple and straightforward to find plant miR NA targets, this viewpoint is being challenged by genetic and biochemical studies. In this review, we summarize recent progress in plant miRNA target recognition mechanisms, principles of target prediction, and introduce current experimental and computational tools for plant miRNA target prediction. At the end, we also present our thinking on the outlook for future directions in the development of plant miRNA target finding methods.
