Bmo-miR-2780a regulates the expression of the sericin-1 gene of Bombyx mori.

Silk production in Bombyx mori L. is largely determined by the expression of genes encoding fibroin and sericin. Here, we examined the regulatory function of a microRNA (miRNA) on silk gene expression using the sericin-1 gene (BmSer-1). First, we downloaded whole mature miRNAs of silkworm from miRBase and identified bmo-miR-2780a as a candidate miRNA for the regulation of BmSer-1 expression. We used semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with stem-loop primers to investigate the expression profile of bmo-miR-2780a and its predicted target gene BmSer-1 in seven different tissues from 5th instar day-3 larvae, including head, fat body, anterior silk gland (ASG), middle silk gland (MSG), posterior silk gland (PSG), middle gut, and hemolymph. Our results showed that bmo-miR-2780a was specifically expressed in the MSG and that the expression level of BmSer-1 was significantly higher in the MSG than in other tissues. Recombinant plasmids carrying both pri-mir-2780a and Ser1-3'UTR were constructed and then used to cotransfect BmN cells. We further detected the effect of bmo-miR-2780a on Ser-1 in vivo. These results showed that the target gene was significantly decreased by miR-2780a compared with the control group (p < .05), thus indicating that bmo-miR-2780a might negatively regulate the expression of Ser-1.