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Identification of circular RNA in the Bombyx mori silk gland
Huaiyan Gan1, Tieshan Feng1, Yuqian Wu1
1State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China.
Abstract:
Bombyx mori is an economically important holometabolous lepidopteran insect. In B. mori endogenous noncoding RNAs such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and Piwi-interacting RNAs play crucial biological functions in metamorphosis and sex determination. In addition, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been recently identified as noncoding RNAs in most common model organisms and show potential as gene regulators. However, to date, there have been few studies on the circRNAs present in the B. mori genome conducted to date. Here, we identified 3916 circRNAs by deep circular transcriptome sequencing using the silk gland of B. mori. 3155 circRNAs were found to be derived from 1727 parental genes. The circRNAs displayed tissue-specific expression between the middle silk gland (MSG) and posterior silk gland (PSG), with 2532 and 880 being upregulated circRNAs in the MSG and PSG, respectively. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses showed that the parental genes from the MSG and PSG were generally annotated to similar categories and pathways. The interaction network of circRNAs and miRNAs showed that circRNAs might act as miRNA sponges or interact with miRNAs in some other way. Overall, the results revealed the complicated patterns of circRNAs in the B. mori silk gland providing a new angle from which to explore the mechanisms of complex gene regulation and efficient silk protein synthesis.
Insights
This study identified thousands of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in the Bombyx mori silk gland, revealing their tissue-specific expression and potential roles in gene regulation and silk production. These findings offer new insights into complex genetic mechanisms in this economically important insect.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
- Insect Science
Background:
- Bombyx mori is a key lepidopteran insect with significant economic importance.
- Noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and Piwi-interacting RNAs, are vital for B. mori's metamorphosis and sex determination.
- Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are newly identified noncoding RNAs with potential gene regulatory functions, but their role in B. mori remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize circRNAs in the Bombyx mori silk gland.
- To investigate the expression patterns and potential functions of these circRNAs.
- To explore the interactions between circRNAs and miRNAs in B. mori.
Main Methods:
- Deep circular transcriptome sequencing of B. mori silk glands.
- Bioinformatic analysis to identify and quantify circRNAs.
- Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses.
- Construction of circRNA-miRNA interaction networks.
Main Results:
- Identification of 3916 circRNAs, with 3155 derived from 1727 parental genes.
- Tissue-specific expression of circRNAs observed between the middle silk gland (MSG) and posterior silk gland (PSG).
- Functional annotation indicated similar Gene Ontology categories and KEGG pathways for parental genes in MSG and PSG.
- circRNAs may function as miRNA sponges or participate in other miRNA interactions.
Conclusions:
- The study presents a comprehensive catalog of circRNAs in the B. mori silk gland.
- circRNAs exhibit complex, tissue-specific expression patterns.
- circRNAs likely play a role in regulating gene expression and may be involved in efficient silk protein synthesis.
