MicroRNA regulation of an insect diapause

MicroRNA对昆虫滞育的调控

• 批准号: 1354377
• 负责人: David Denlinger
• 金额: $ 35.2万
• 依托单位: Ohio State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-04-15 至 2018-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1354377&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MicroRNA; regulation; insect; diapause

One consequence of global climate change is a shift in the seasonal distribution of medically and economically important insect species. As temperatures increase many species are emerging earlier in the spring and producing more generations per year, thus having a bigger impact on human well being. Knowing how insects coordinate their seasonal development with appropriate seasons for growth and development is critical for predicting changes in seasonal distribution of key insect species. Much of the year is unsuitable for continuous development and during this time many insects enter a period of dormancy known as diapause. Diapause allows insects to "escape" from predictable periods of harsh environmental conditions. Characterized by arrested development and reduced metabolism, diapause significantly increases an insect?s lifespan in addition to providing protection from environmental extremes. The aim of this research is to further our understanding of the molecular basis of diapause by examining the regulatory role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in initiating and maintaining diapause in the flesh fly, Sarcophaga bullata. miRNAs are small RNA fragments that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. They represent one type of epigenetic mechanism that can change the phenotype (i.e., morphological or physiological attributes) of an organism without changing the underlying DNA sequence. These small RNAs appear to be essential for diapause because genes that encode components of the miRNA processing machinery are more highly expressed in diapausing S. bullata pupae than in their non-diapause counterparts. miRNAs are known to regulate biological processes that are important for establishing and maintaining diapause, including developmental timing, metabolism, and stress-resistance. These studies will also provide new information about the maternal inheritance of miRNAs and the influence of maternal history on the expression and activity of miRNAs. In S. bullata a maternal effect prevents diapause in offspring of females that have gone through diapause. Maternal effects commonly regulate diapause in insects, especially in Diptera, but little is known about how such maternal effects are regulated by miRNAs or any other factor. Together, this research is expected to provide entirely new information about the regulation of diapause and the seasonal patterns of insects that are a consequence of diapause. Understanding how miRNAs regulate the maternal block of diapause in the female?s progeny may provide new tools to manipulate the diapause response and, ultimately, control population outbreaks of insect pests.In addition to providing new information about how diapause is regulated, this research will generate some of the first miRNA sequences for a non-Drosophila fly. We anticipate that the new miRNA sequences will help provide a foundation for future studies on the evolution of insect miRNA sequences and establish a framework for understanding the ecological relevance of these small RNAs in the adaptations of animals to an ever-changing environment. This research will provide training for a postdoctoral researcher, and graduate and undergraduate students. It will also enable members of the laboratory to continue their outreach programs with local elementary schools, high schools and public libraries in the Columbus area.

全球气候变化的后果之一是医学和经济上重要的昆虫物种的季节性分布发生变化。 随着气温升高，许多物种在春季出现得更早，每年产生更多的后代，从而对人类福祉产生更大的影响。 了解昆虫如何协调其季节性发育与生长和发育的适当季节对于预测关键昆虫物种季节性分布的变化至关重要。 一年中的大部分时间不适合持续发育，在此期间许多昆虫进入休眠期，称为滞育。滞育使昆虫能够“逃离”可预测的恶劣环境条件。滞育的特点是发育停滞和新陈代谢减少，除了提供针对极端环境的保护之外，还显着延长了昆虫的寿命。 本研究的目的是通过检查 microRNA (miRNA) 在肉蝇 (Sarcophaga bullata) 滞育启动和维持中的调节作用，进一步了解滞育的分子基础。 miRNA 是转录后调节基因表达的小 RNA 片段。 它们代表一种表观遗传机制，可以改变生物体的表型（即形态或生理属性）而不改变潜在的 DNA 序列。 这些小 RNA 似乎对于滞育至关重要，因为编码 miRNA 加工机制组件的基因在滞育的 S. bullata 蛹中比在非滞育的对应物中表达得更高。 众所周知，miRNA 可以调节对建立和维持滞育非常重要的生物过程，包括发育时间、新陈代谢和应激抵抗。 这些研究还将提供有关 miRNA 的母系遗传以及母系史对 miRNA 的表达和活性的影响的新信息。在 S. bullata 中，母体效应可以防止已经历滞育的雌性后代的滞育。母体效应通常调节昆虫（尤其是双翅目）的滞育，但人们对 miRNA 或任何其他因素如何调节此类母体效应知之甚少。 总之，这项研究预计将提供有关滞育调节和滞育导致的昆虫季节性模式的全新信息。了解 miRNA 如何调节雌性后代滞育的母体阻断可能会提供新的工具来操纵滞育反应，并最终控制害虫的种群爆发。除了提供有关如何调节滞育的新信息外，这项研究还将为非果蝇生成一些第一个 miRNA 序列。 我们预计新的 miRNA 序列将有助于为未来研究昆虫 miRNA 序列的进化奠定基础，并建立一个框架来了解这些小 RNA 在动物适应不断变化的环境中的生态相关性。 这项研究将为博士后研究员、研究生和本科生提供培训。 它还将使实验室成员能够继续与哥伦布地区当地小学、高中和公共图书馆开展外展项目。