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A time course analysis through diapause reveals dynamic temporal patterns of microRNAs associated with endocrine regulation in the butterfly Pieris napi

Roberts, Kevin T. ; Steward, Rachel A. LU ; Süess, Philip ; Lehmann, Philipp and Wheat, Christopher W. (2024) In Molecular Ecology
Abstract

Organisms inhabiting highly seasonal environments must cope with a wide range of environmentally induced challenges. Many seasonal challenges require extensive physiological modification to survive. In winter, to survive extreme cold and limited resources, insects commonly enter diapause, which is an endogenously derived dormant state associated with minimized cellular processes and low energetic expenditure. Due to the high degree of complexity involved in diapause, substantial cellular regulation is required, of which our understanding primarily derives from the transcriptome via messenger RNA expression dynamics. Here we aim to advance our understanding of diapause by investigating microRNA (miRNA) expression in diapausing and direct... (More)

Organisms inhabiting highly seasonal environments must cope with a wide range of environmentally induced challenges. Many seasonal challenges require extensive physiological modification to survive. In winter, to survive extreme cold and limited resources, insects commonly enter diapause, which is an endogenously derived dormant state associated with minimized cellular processes and low energetic expenditure. Due to the high degree of complexity involved in diapause, substantial cellular regulation is required, of which our understanding primarily derives from the transcriptome via messenger RNA expression dynamics. Here we aim to advance our understanding of diapause by investigating microRNA (miRNA) expression in diapausing and direct developing pupae of the butterfly Pieris napi. We identified coordinated patterns of miRNA expression throughout diapause in both head and abdomen tissues of pupae, and via miRNA target identification, found several expression patterns to be enriched for relevant diapause-related physiological processes. We also identified two candidate miRNAs, miR-14-5p and miR-2a-3p, that are likely involved in diapause progression through their activity in the ecdysone pathway, a critical regulator of diapause termination. miR-14-5p targets phantom, a gene in the ecdysone synthesis pathway, and is upregulated early in diapause. miR-2a-3p has been found to be expressed in response to ecdysone, and is upregulated during diapause termination. Together, the expression patterns of these two miRNAs match our current understanding of the timing of hormonal regulation of diapause in P. napi and provide interesting candidates to further explore the mechanistic role of microRNAs in diapause regulation.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
in press
subject
keywords
diapause, ecdysone, Lepidoptera, microRNA
in
Molecular Ecology
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • pmid:38597329
  • scopus:85190474261
ISSN
0962-1083
DOI
10.1111/mec.17348
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b5aaa690-d0d1-4b2e-912c-a40e63e224fb
date added to LUP
2024-04-29 09:24:17
date last changed
2024-05-13 10:43:21
@article{b5aaa690-d0d1-4b2e-912c-a40e63e224fb,
  abstract     = {{<p>Organisms inhabiting highly seasonal environments must cope with a wide range of environmentally induced challenges. Many seasonal challenges require extensive physiological modification to survive. In winter, to survive extreme cold and limited resources, insects commonly enter diapause, which is an endogenously derived dormant state associated with minimized cellular processes and low energetic expenditure. Due to the high degree of complexity involved in diapause, substantial cellular regulation is required, of which our understanding primarily derives from the transcriptome via messenger RNA expression dynamics. Here we aim to advance our understanding of diapause by investigating microRNA (miRNA) expression in diapausing and direct developing pupae of the butterfly Pieris napi. We identified coordinated patterns of miRNA expression throughout diapause in both head and abdomen tissues of pupae, and via miRNA target identification, found several expression patterns to be enriched for relevant diapause-related physiological processes. We also identified two candidate miRNAs, miR-14-5p and miR-2a-3p, that are likely involved in diapause progression through their activity in the ecdysone pathway, a critical regulator of diapause termination. miR-14-5p targets phantom, a gene in the ecdysone synthesis pathway, and is upregulated early in diapause. miR-2a-3p has been found to be expressed in response to ecdysone, and is upregulated during diapause termination. Together, the expression patterns of these two miRNAs match our current understanding of the timing of hormonal regulation of diapause in P. napi and provide interesting candidates to further explore the mechanistic role of microRNAs in diapause regulation.</p>}},
  author       = {{Roberts, Kevin T. and Steward, Rachel A. and Süess, Philip and Lehmann, Philipp and Wheat, Christopher W.}},
  issn         = {{0962-1083}},
  keywords     = {{diapause; ecdysone; Lepidoptera; microRNA}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Molecular Ecology}},
  title        = {{A time course analysis through diapause reveals dynamic temporal patterns of microRNAs associated with endocrine regulation in the butterfly Pieris napi}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.17348}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/mec.17348}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}