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. 2019 Jul;24(4):719-733.
doi: 10.1007/s12192-019-00996-y. Epub 2019 May 27.

Salinity stress-induced differentially expressed miRNAs and target genes in sea cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus

Yi Tian  1 , Yanpeng Shang  2 , Ran Guo  2 , Yaqing Chang  2 , Yanan Jiang  2
Affiliations

Salinity stress-induced differentially expressed miRNAs and target genes in sea cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus

Yi Tian et al. Cell Stress Chaperones. 2019 Jul.

Abstract

Environmental salinity is an important abiotic factor influencing normal physiological functions and productive performance in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. It is therefore important to understand how changes in salinity affect sea cucumbers in the face of global climate change. In this study, we investigated the responses to salinity stress in sea cucumbers using mRNA and miRNA sequencing. The regulatory network of mRNAs and miRNAs involved in salinity stress was examined, and the metabolic pathways enriched for differentially expressed miRNAs and target mRNAs were identified. The top 20 pathways were involved in carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, degradation, and elongation, amino acid metabolism, genetic information processing, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, transport and catabolism, and environmental information processing. A total of 22 miRNAs showed differential expression during salinity acclimation. The predicted 134 target genes were enriched in functions consistent with the results of gene enrichment based on transcriptome analysis. These results suggested that sea cucumbers deal with salinity stress via changes in amino acid metabolism, ion channels, transporters, and aquaporins, under stimulation by environmental signals, and that this process requires energy from carbohydrate and fatty acid metabolism. Salinity challenge also induced miRNA expression. These results provide a valuable genomic resource that extends our understanding of the unique biological characteristics of this economically important species under conditions of salinity stress.

Keywords: Apostichopus japonicus; Different expression miRNA; Differentially expressed genes; Salinity stress; mRNA and miRNA interaction.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The network of DEM and their target mRNAs was constructed using Cytoscape 3.3.0. Yellow rectangular box miRNAs and white oval target genes
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Analysis of selected nine differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in salinity-stressed and non-salinity-stressed sea cucumbers by sequencing and RT-qPCR methods. The results revealed that expression of these selected differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by RTqPCR were in agreement with the sequencing data
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Analysis of selected six differentially expressed miRNA (DEMs) in salinity-stressed and non-salinity-stressed sea cucumbers by sequencing and RT-qPCR methods
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
A hypothetical model depicting the components involved in the sea cucumbers salt-responsive networks was established. The purple rectangular box of the figure represents the pathway involved after salt stress; the gray rectangular box represents the possible three salinity adaption modes, and the orange rectangular box represents the related miRNAs
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