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MicroRNA profiling of Neospora caninum tachyzoites (NC-1) using a high-throughput approach

  • Protozoology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Neospora caninum is an important pathogen commonly causing spontaneous abortion in livestock. The parasite is known to remain in cysts in an inactive state; or it can undergo expansive development within an intermediate host. However, the mechanisms that trigger the proliferation of N. caninum have not been thoroughly elucidated. For various organisms, it has been demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) can act as important endogenous regulatory factors in gene regulation during cell differentiation and development. However, miRNAs and their function have not been studied in N. caninum. In this study, small RNA libraries from N. caninum tachyzoites (NC-1 strain) were analyzed using a high-throughput RNA sequencing technology combined with systematic bioinformatics analysis. A considerable number of novel miRNAs from N. caninum NC-1 strain tachyzoites were identified. Of the 300 miRNAs found by bioinformatics analysis, 10 were conserved miRNAs belonging to 10 metazoan miRNA families, while 290 were novel miRNAs. The expression of 13 novel miRNAs was verified by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). Data from this study provided and identified authentic miRNAs for the first time in N. caninum. The study also introduces a framework for further investigations of RNAi-dependent regulatory mechanisms of the parasite and provides data for further understanding of N. caninum development.

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Abbreviations

miRNAs:

microRNAs

UTR:

untranslated region

RISC:

RNA-induced silencing complex

VSP:

variant surface protein

sncRNAs:

small non-coding RNA

nt:

nucleotide

qRT-PCR:

real-time quantitative PCR

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Acknowledgements

We thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. We also thank Line Elnif Thomsen (University of Copenhagen) for helpful English revision of the manuscript.

Availability of data and material

The datasets supporting the conclusions of this article are available in the Gene Expression Omnibus repository, [GSE107118, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE107118].

Funding

This work was supported by the funding of National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFD0500400), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31072125 and 31272549).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Zoonosis, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, 130062, China

    Gang Liu, Qingyan Shao, Huijun Lu & Jigang Yin

  2. Laboratory of Veterinary Microbiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Yanbian University, Yanji, 133002, China

    Lijun Jia

  3. Department of Pediatric Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, China

    Jixue Zhao

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  1. Gang Liu
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  2. Lijun Jia
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  3. Qingyan Shao
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  4. Huijun Lu
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  5. Jixue Zhao
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  6. Jigang Yin
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Contributions

GL and JY designed the study, analyzed results, and drafted the manuscript. GL and QS performed experiments. GL, LJ, HL, and JZ analyzed the data. All authors commented on and approved the final manuscript

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Correspondence to Jixue Zhao or Jigang Yin.

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Liu, G., Jia, L., Shao, Q. et al. MicroRNA profiling of Neospora caninum tachyzoites (NC-1) using a high-throughput approach. Parasitol Res 120, 2165–2174 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07155-2

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