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Tsubota T, Yoshioka T, Jouraku A, Suzuki TK, Yonemura N, Yukuhiro K, Kameda T, Sezutsu H. Transcriptomic analysis of the bagworm moth silk gland reveals a number of silk genes conserved within Lepidoptera. INSECT SCIENCE 2021; 28:885-900. [PMID: 32589338 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Lepidopteran insects produce cocoons with unique properties. The cocoons are made of silk produced in the larval tissue silk gland and our understanding of the silk genes is still very limited. Here, we investigated silk genes in the bagworm moth Eumeta variegata, a species that has recently been found to produce extraordinarily strong and tough silk. Using short-read transcriptomic analysis, we identified a partial sequence of the fibroin heavy chain gene and its product was found to have a C-terminal structure that is conserved within nonsaturniid species. This is in accordance with the presence of fibroin light chain/fibrohexamerin genes and it is suggested that the bagworm moth is producing silk composed of fibroin ternary complex. This indicates that the fibroin structure has been evolutionarily conserved longer than previously thought. Other than fibroins we identified candidates for sericin genes, expressed strongly in the middle region of the silk gland and encoding serine-rich proteins, and other silk genes, that are structurally conserved with other lepidopteran homologues. The bagworm moth is thus considered to be producing conventional lepidopteran type of silk. We further found a number of genes expressed in a specific region of the silk gland and some genes showed conserved expression with Bombyx mori counterparts. This is the first study allowing comprehensive silk gene identification and expression analysis in the lepidopteran Psychidae family and should contribute to the understanding of silk gene evolution as well as to the development of novel types of silk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuya Tsubota
- Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Taiyo Yoshioka
- Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Silk Materials Research Unit, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Akiya Jouraku
- Insect Genome Research and Engineering Unit, Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Takao K Suzuki
- Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Naoyuki Yonemura
- Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Kenji Yukuhiro
- Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Silk Materials Research Unit, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Tsunenori Kameda
- Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Silk Materials Research Unit, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Hideki Sezutsu
- Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
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Chen T, Sun Q, Ma Y, Zeng W, Liu R, Qu D, Huang L, Xu H. A transcriptome atlas of silkworm silk glands revealed by PacBio single-molecule long-read sequencing. Mol Genet Genomics 2020; 295:1227-1237. [PMID: 32524299 DOI: 10.1007/s00438-020-01691-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The silk gland of the silkworm Bombyx mori is a specialized organ where silk proteins are efficiently synthesized under precise regulation that largely determines the properties of silk fibers. To understand the genes involved in the regulation of silk protein synthesis, considerable research has focused on the transcripts expressed in silk glands; however, the complete transcriptome profile of this organ has yet to be elucidated. Here, we report a full-length silk gland transcriptome obtained by PacBio single-molecule long-read sequencing technology. In total, 11,697 non-redundant transcripts were identified in mixed samples of silk glands dissected from larvae at five developmental stages. When compared with the published reference, the full-length transcripts optimized the structures of 3002 known genes, and a total of 9061 novel transcripts with an average length of 2171 bp were detected. Among these, 1403 (15.5%) novel transcripts were computationally revealed to be lncRNAs, 8135 (89.8%) novel transcripts were annotated to different protein and nucleotide databases, and 5655 (62.4%) novel transcripts were predicted to have complete ORFs. Furthermore, we found 1867 alternative splicing events, 2529 alternative polyadenylation events, 784 fusion events and 6596 SSRs. This study provides a comprehensive set of reference transcripts and greatly revises and expands the available silkworm transcript data. In addition, these data will be very useful for studying the regulatory mechanisms of silk protein synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Chen
- College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212003, Jiangsu, China
- The Sericultural Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 212018, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qiwei Sun
- International Bioinformatics Center, BGI Genomics Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, 518083, Guangdong, China
| | - Yan Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Wenhui Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Rongpeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Dawei Qu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Lihua Huang
- International Bioinformatics Center, BGI Genomics Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, 518083, Guangdong, China
| | - Hanfu Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
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3
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Effects of Osiris9a on Silk Properties in Bombyx mori Determined by Transgenic Overexpression. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21051888. [PMID: 32164252 PMCID: PMC7084798 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21051888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Revised: 03/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Osiris is an insect-specific gene family with multiple biological roles in development, phenotypic polymorphism, and protection. In the silkworm, we have previously identified twenty-five Osiris genes with high evolutionary conservation and remarkable synteny among several insects. Bombxy moriOsiris9a (BmOsi9a) is expressed only in the silk gland, particularly in the middle silk gland (MSG). However, the biological function of BmOsi9a is still unknown. In this study, we overexpressed BmOsi9a in the silk gland by germline transgene expression. BmOsi9a was overexpressed not only in the MSG but also in the posterior silk gland (PSG). Interestingly, BmOsi9a could be secreted into the lumen in the MSG but not in the PSG. In the silk fiber, overexpressed BmOsi9a interacted with Sericin1 in the MSG, as confirmed by a co-immunoprecipitation assay. The overexpression of BmOsi9a altered the secondary structure and crystallinity of the silk fiber, thereby changing the mechanical properties. These results provide insight into the mechanisms underlying silk proteins secretion and silk fiber formation.
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4
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Yang L, Gao Q, Dai J, Yuan G, Wang L, Qian C, Zhu B, Liu C, Wei G. Comparative transcriptome analysis of silkworm, Bombyx mori colleterial gland suggests their functional role in mucous secretion. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198077. [PMID: 29852007 PMCID: PMC5979005 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2017] [Accepted: 05/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Colleterial glands (CG) present in the body of adult female of Bombyx mori, which can help adhere eggs on the surface of the host plants. Although this organ has been known for centuries, only morphology and its secretions have been studied. Their gene expression profiles and physiological roles remain largely unknown. Aided by high-throughput next generation sequencing (NGS), we reported the comparative transcriptome analysis of CG isolated from the H9 and the P50 strains of Bombyx mori. A total of 19,896,957 and 20,446,366 clean reads were obtained from CG of H9 and the P50 strains, respectively; then differential expression analysis was performed, and 1,509 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Among them, 1,001 genes are up-regulated and 508 genes are down-regulated in P50 individuals compared with H9 individuals. The enrichment of GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) of DEGs confirmed that many DEGs were associated with "Amino acid transport and metabolism", "Nucleotide transport and metabolism", and "Inorganic ion transport and metabolism", 25 of the DEGs related to the "ECM-receptor interaction passway", "sphingolipid metabolism passway", and "amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism passway" were potentially involved in the process of CG development and mucus secretion. According to these data, we hypothesized that CG play an important role in providing favorable physiological environment for the glue secretion formation. In addition, GO enrichment and differential expression analysis of the DEGs in the CG indicate that this gland may be involved in the transporting of small solutes such as sugars, ions, amino acids and nucleotide sugar to the CG. Our findings lay the foundation for further research on CG function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangli Yang
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, P.R.China
| | - Qiuping Gao
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, P.R.China
| | - Junjun Dai
- Sericultural Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, P.R. China
| | - Guozhen Yuan
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, P.R.China
| | - Lei Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, P.R.China
| | - Cen Qian
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, P.R.China
| | - Baojian Zhu
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, P.R.China
| | - Chaoliang Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, P.R.China
| | - Guoqing Wei
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, P.R.China
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Tsubota T, Yamamoto K, Mita K, Sezutsu H. Gene expression analysis in the larval silk gland of the eri silkworm Samia ricini. INSECT SCIENCE 2016; 23:791-804. [PMID: 26178074 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/23/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Insects produce silk for a range of purposes. In the Lepidoptera, silk is utilized as a material for cocoon production and serves to protect larvae from adverse environmental conditions or predators. Species in the Saturniidae family produce an especially wide variety of cocoons, for example, large, golden colored cocoons and those with many small holes. Although gene expression in the silk gland of the domestic silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) has been extensively studied, considerably fewer investigations have focused on members of the saturniid family. Here, we established expression sequence tags from the silk gland of the eri silkworm (Samia ricini), a saturniid species, and used these to analyze gene expression. Although we identified the fibroin heavy chain gene in the established library, genes for other major silk proteins, such as fibroin light chain and fibrohexamerin, were absent. This finding is consistent with previous reports that these latter proteins are lacking in saturniid silk. Recently, a series of fibrohexamerin-like genes were identified in the Bombyx genome. We used this information to conduct a detailed analysis of the library established here. This analysis identified putative homologues of these genes. We also found several genes encoding small silk protein molecules that are also present in the silk of other Lepidoptera. Gene expression patterns were compared between eri and domestic silkworm, and both conserved and nonconserved expression patterns were identified for the tested genes. Such differential gene expression might be one of the major causes of the differences in silk properties between these species. We believe that our study can be of value as a basic catalogue for silk gland gene expression, which will yield to the further understanding of silk evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuya Tsubota
- Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Ibaraki, 305-8634, Japan
| | - Kimiko Yamamoto
- Insect Genome Research Unit, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Ibaraki, 305-8634, Japan
| | - Kazuei Mita
- Insect Genome Research Unit, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Ibaraki, 305-8634, Japan
| | - Hideki Sezutsu
- Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Ibaraki, 305-8634, Japan
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6
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Hu W, Liu C, Cheng T, Li W, Wang N, Xia Q. Histomorphometric and transcriptomic features characterize silk glands' development during the molt to intermolt transition process in silkworm. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 76:95-108. [PMID: 27395780 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2016.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Revised: 06/20/2016] [Accepted: 07/05/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The molt-intermolt cycle is an essential feature in holometabolous and hemimetabolous insects' development. In the silkworm, silk glands are under dramatic morphological and functional changes with fibroin genes' transcription being repeatedly turned off and on during the molt-intermolt cycles. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling it are still unknown. Here, silk gland's histomorphology and transcriptome analysis were used to characterize changes in its structure and gene expression patterns from molt to intermolt stages. By using section staining and transmission electron microscope, a renewable cell damage was detected in the silk gland at the molt stage, and an increased number of autophagosomes and lysosomes were found in silk gland cells' cytoplasm. Next, by using RNA sequencing, 54,578,413 reads were obtained, of which 85% were mapped to the silkworm reference genome. The expression level analysis of silk protein genes and silk gland transcription factors revealed that fibroin heavy chain, fibroin light chain, P25/fhx, sericin1, sericin3 and Dimm had consistent alteration trends in temporal expression. In addition, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and most of the DEGs associated with ecdysone signal transduction, mRNA degradation, protein proteolysis, and autophagy were significantly down-regulated in the transition from molt to intermolt, suggesting that these pathways were activated for the silk gland renewal. These findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of silk gland development and silk protein genes transcriptional regulation during the molt to intermolt transition process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenbo Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Chun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China; Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center for Novel Silk Materials, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Tingcai Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Wei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Niannian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Qingyou Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China; Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center for Novel Silk Materials, Chongqing 400716, China.
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7
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Wu Y, Cheng T, Liu C, Liu D, Zhang Q, Long R, Zhao P, Xia Q. Systematic Identification and Characterization of Long Non-Coding RNAs in the Silkworm, Bombyx mori. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0147147. [PMID: 26771876 PMCID: PMC4714849 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2015] [Accepted: 11/22/2015] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as important regulators in various biological processes. However, to date, no systematic characterization of lncRNAs has been reported in the silkworm Bombyx mori. In the present study, we generated eighteen RNA-seq datasets with relatively high depth. Using an in-house designed lncRNA identification pipeline, 11,810 lncRNAs were identified for 5,556 loci. Among these lncRNAs, 474 transcripts were intronic lncRNAs (ilncRNAs), 6,250 transcripts were intergenic lncRNAs (lincRNAs), and 5,086 were natural antisense lncRNAs (lncNATs). Compared with protein-coding mRNAs, silkworm lncRNAs are shorter in terms of full length but longer in terms of exon and intron length. In addition, lncRNAs exhibit a lower level of sequence conservation, more repeat sequences overlapped and higher tissue specificity than protein-coding mRNAs in the silkworm. We found that 69 lncRNA transcripts from 33 gene loci may function as miRNA precursors, and 104 lncRNA transcripts from 72 gene loci may act as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs). In total, 49.47% of all gene loci (2,749/5,556) for which lncRNAs were identified showed sex-biased expression. Co-expression network analysis resulted in 19 modules, 12 of which revealed relatively high tissue specificity. The highlighted darkgoldenrod module was specifically associated with middle and posterior silk glands, and the hub lncRNAs within this module were co-expressed with proteins involved in translation, translocation, and secretory processes, suggesting that these hub lncRNAs may function as regulators of the biosynthesis, translocation, and secretion of silk proteins. This study presents the first comprehensive genome-wide analysis of silkworm lncRNAs and provides an invaluable resource for genetic, evolutionary, and genomic studies of B. mori.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqian Wu
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Tingcai Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Chun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Duolian Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Quan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Renwen Long
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Ping Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Qingyou Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
- * E-mail:
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Chang H, Cheng T, Wu Y, Hu W, Long R, Liu C, Zhao P, Xia Q. Transcriptomic Analysis of the Anterior Silk Gland in the Domestic Silkworm (Bombyx mori) - Insight into the Mechanism of Silk Formation and Spinning. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0139424. [PMID: 26418001 PMCID: PMC4587926 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Accepted: 09/14/2015] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Silk proteins are synthesized in the middle and posterior silk glands of silkworms, then transit into the anterior of the silk gland, where the silk fibers are produced, stored and processed. The mechanism of formation and spinning of the silk fibers has not been fully elucidated, and transcriptome analyses specific to the anterior silk gland have not been reported. In the present study, we explored gene expression profiles in five regions of silk gland samples using the RNA-Seq method. As a result, there were 959,979,570 raw reads obtained, of which 583,068,172 reads were mapped to the silkworm genome. A total of 7419 genes were found to be expressed in terms of reads per kilobase of exon model per million mapped reads ≥ 5 in at least one sample. The gene numbers and expression levels of the expressed genes differed between these regions. The differentially expressed genes were analyzed, and 282 genes were detected as up-regulated in the anterior silk gland, compared with the other parts. Functions of these genes were addressed using the gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases, and seven key pathways were enriched. It suggested that the ion transportation, energy metabolism, protease inhibitors and cuticle proteins played essential roles in the process of silk formation and spinning in the anterior silk gland. In addition, 210 genes were found differently expressed between males and females, which should help to elucidate the mechanism of the quality difference in silk fibers from male and female silkworms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaipu Chang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
| | - Tingcai Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuqian Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
| | - Wenbo Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
| | - Renwen Long
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
| | - Chun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
| | - Ping Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
| | - Qingyou Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
- * E-mail:
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Li JY, Ye LP, Che JQ, Song J, You ZY, Yun KC, Wang SH, Zhong BX. Comparative proteomic analysis of the silkworm middle silk gland reveals the importance of ribosome biogenesis in silk protein production. J Proteomics 2015; 126:109-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2015.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Revised: 05/19/2015] [Accepted: 06/01/2015] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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10
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Fang SM, Hu BL, Zhou QZ, Yu QY, Zhang Z. Comparative analysis of the silk gland transcriptomes between the domestic and wild silkworms. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:60. [PMID: 25887670 PMCID: PMC4328555 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1287-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2014] [Accepted: 01/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Bombyx mori was domesticated from the Chinese wild silkworm, Bombyx mandarina. Wild and domestic silkworms are good models in which to investigate genes related to silk protein synthesis that may be differentially expressed in silk glands, because their silk productions are very different. Here we used the mRNA deep sequencing (RNA-seq) approach to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the transcriptomes of the median/posterior silk glands of two domestic and two wild silkworms. Results The results indicated that about 58% of the total genes were expressed (reads per kilo bases per million reads (RPKM) ≥ 1) in each silkworm. Comparisons of the domestic and wild silkworm transcriptomes revealed 32 DEGs, of which 16 were up-regulated in the domestic silkworms compared with in the wild silkworms, and the other 16 were up-regulated in the wild silkworms compared with in the domestic silkworms. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed for 15 randomly selected DEGs in domestic versus wild silkworms. The qPCR results were mostly consistent with the expression levels determined from the RNA-seq data. Based on a Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and manual annotation, five of the up-regulated DEGs in the wild silkworms were predicted to be involved in immune response, and seven of the up-regulated DEGs were related to the GO term “oxidoreductase activity”, which is associated with antioxidant systems. In the domestic silkworms, the up-regulated DEGs were related mainly to tissue development, secretion of proteins and metabolism. Conclusions The up-regulated DEGs in the two domestic silkworms may be involved mainly in the highly efficient biosynthesis and secretion of silk proteins, while the up-regulated DEGs in the two wild silkworms may play more important roles in tolerance to pathogens and environment adaptation. Our results provide a foundation for understanding the molecular mechanisms of the silk production difference between domestic and wild silkworms. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1287-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shou-Min Fang
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China. .,College of Life Science, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, China.
| | - Bi-Li Hu
- Key Sericultural Laboratory of Shaanxi, Ankang University, Ankang, 725000, China.
| | - Qiu-Zhong Zhou
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
| | - Quan-You Yu
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
| | - Ze Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
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11
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Dong Z, Zhao P, Wang C, Zhang Y, Chen J, Wang X, Lin Y, Xia Q. Comparative Proteomics Reveal Diverse Functions and Dynamic Changes of Bombyx mori Silk Proteins Spun from Different Development Stages. J Proteome Res 2013; 12:5213-22. [DOI: 10.1021/pr4005772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoming Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm
Genome Biology, Southwest University, 216, Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Ping Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm
Genome Biology, Southwest University, 216, Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Chen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm
Genome Biology, Southwest University, 216, Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm
Genome Biology, Southwest University, 216, Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Jianping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm
Genome Biology, Southwest University, 216, Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Xin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm
Genome Biology, Southwest University, 216, Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Ying Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm
Genome Biology, Southwest University, 216, Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Qingyou Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm
Genome Biology, Southwest University, 216, Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing 400716, China
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