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. 2018 Jun 27;4(6):e00668. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00668

Identification and characterization of microRNAs from the tube foot in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius

Yaoyao Zhan a, Yingying Li a, Dongyao Cui a, Qiantong Pei b, Jingxian Sun a, Weijie Zhang a, Yaqing Chang a,
PMCID: PMC6039759  PMID: 30003162

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in regulating many bio-processes of eukaryotes. The sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius (an important fishery resource) is of great economic importance in Japan, North Korea, Russia, and China. In the current study, miRNAs of tube foot in S. intermedius were firstly identified and characterized. Data in this study can provide more genomic information for the further understanding of the complex regulation network in sea urchins and present a new way for monitoring the health status of cultured sea urchins.

Keyword: Genetics

1. Introduction

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short endogenous non-coding RNAs, with lengths of about 20–25 nucleotides (nt) (Chen et al., 2016). It has been well documented that miRNAs play vital roles in many physiological and biochemical processes of eukaryotes (Wei et al., 2014). MiRNAs are also involved in host immune and stress response in eukaryotes, via regulating the expression of their target genes post-transcriptionally (Achkar et al., 2016). As for marine organisms, miRNAs have been identified from many species such as fish (Chen et al., 2017), crustaceans (Zhou et al., 2015), echinoderms (Wang et al., 2014; Mi et al., 2014), shellfish (Picone et al., 2016), and cephalochordates (Liao et al., 2017).

The sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius is naturally distributed in northern regions of the Pacific coastal waters, the Sea of Japan, and Korean waters (Lawrence, 2013). In 1989, S. intermedius was transplanted from Japan waters by Dalian Ocean University, and it has become one of the most important cultured sea urchin species to date. In China, it is widely cultivated along the coastal areas of Liaoning and Shandong Provinces (Chang et al., 2012). According to China fishery Statistical Yearbook (2015), the annual aquaculture output of the sea urchin S. intermedius was 6.79 kilotons in 2014, as a result of the large demand for its gonad which is a highly valuable domestic and export product (Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China, 2015). However, with the expansion of S. intermedius aquaculture and the continuous deterioration of its culture environment, it has been prominent to increase the disease resistance of S. intermedius in recent years (Wang et al., 2013).

Tube foot is an important organ for sea urchins. It functions in sensory, movement, attachment, and responding to environmental changes (Kabat-Zinn and Singer, 1981). As tube feet can be sampled non-destructively in vivo, the health status of sea urchins can be monitored at any time by tube feet sampling. To date, many genes and proteins of tube feet related to the functions mentioned above have been identified and characterized. However, the information of miRNAs of tube feet in sea urchins is still lacking.

In this study, miRNAs of tube feet in S. intermedius were identified and characterized by next-generation high-throughput sequencing techniques. Data observed here can increase our knowledge of tube foot miRNAs in sea urchins. It can also provide information for the further understanding of the complex regulation network in sea urchins when coping with different conditions.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Sea urchin tube feet sampling

Fifteen healthy S. intermedius (average test diameter = 27.89 ± 1.14 mm) provided by the Key Laboratory of Mariculture & Stock Enhancement in North China's Sea were randomly grouped into three groups (five each group) as replicates (SI1, SI2, SI3) in this study. Tube feet collected from each individual within each group were pooled.

2.2. RNA extraction, RNA library construction, and sequencing

Total RNA extraction, small RNA library construction, Illumina sequencing, and transcriptome assembly were performed for each replicated pool as described by Zhong et al. (2015). An equal mixture of the tube foot RNA extracted from five individuals within each replicate was used to build the small RNA library. Raw reads were processed for the evaluation of sequencing quality, the removing of low quality reads and adaptor sequences, and the calculation of the length distribution of small RNA reads (Xu et al., 2015).

2.3. MiRNA identification

The remaining clean reads were aligned against known pre-miRNAs in miRbase 21.0 (http://www.mirbase.org/) to identify the conserved miRNAs. Only those small RNAs with their mature and precursor sequences perfectly matched to the known sea urchin miRNAs were considered to be conserved miRNAs. Two software, miREvo (Wen et al., 2012) and miRDeep2 (Friedlander et al., 2011), were used to predict novel miRNAs through exploring the secondary structure, the Dicer cleavage site, and the minimum free energy of the small RNA tags that were not annotated in previous steps. At the same time, custom scripts were applied to obtain the identified miRNA counts. Base bias with certain length on the first position and on each position of all the identified miRNAs were also obtained in this step.

3. Results

3.1. Data description

As shown in the results, an average of 8911741.67 raw reads (raw data) were obtained after sequencing on an Illumina Hiseq 2500 platform (Novogene Bioinformatics Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing, China), and an average of 7083236.67 clean reads (clean data) were then filtered from the raw data (Table 1). An average of 518539.67 unique sequences were observed from clean data, as candidates for miRNA analysis. All unique sequences were aligned against the known miRNAs in miRbase (v21.0, http://www.mirbase.org/) by BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool).

Table 1.

Summary of the miRNA transcriptome sequencing of the tube foot in S. intermedius. SI1, SI2 and SI3 are replicates.

Library Count of reads
Mean % of total
Mean
SI1 SI2 SI3 SI1 SI2 SI3
Raw reads 9476098.00 8140985.00 9118142.00 8911741.67 100 100 100 100
N% > 10% 1.00 39.00 33.00 24.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
low quality 44565.00 27825.00 35480.00 35956.67 0.47 0.34 0.39 0.40
5_adapter_contamine 7469.00 5007.00 1526.00 4667.33 0.08 0.06 0.02 0.05
3_adapter_null or insert_null 2271046.00 1121001.00 1959048.00 1783698.33 23.97 13.77 21.49 19.74
with ployA/T/G/C 2898.00 5484.00 4093.00 4158.33 0.03 0.07 0.04 0.05
known_miRNA 1950339.00 1498864.00 2238924.00 1896042.33 0.21 0.18 0.25 0.21
rRNA 4112.00 5264.00 3322.00 4232.67 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
tRNA 0.00 1.00 1.00 0.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
snRNA 104.00 111.00 98.00 104.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
snoRNA 817.00 577.00 504.00 632.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
novel_miRNA 116695.00 58033.00 42348.00 72358.67 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.01
other 1633190.00 2532754.00 2459310.00 2208418.00 0.17 0.31 0.27 0.25
clean reads 7150119.00 6981629.00 7117962.00 7083236.67 75.45 85.06 78.06 79.52
18nt 22825.00 21287.00 33469.00 25860.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
19nt 52200.00 65623.00 114338.00 77387.00 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
20nt 189334.00 206819.00 333449.00 243200.67 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.03
21nt 572291.00 521369.00 751698.00 615119.33 0.06 0.06 0.08 0.07
22nt 3209445.00 2325028.00 2315233.00 2616568.67 0.34 0.29 0.25 0.29
23nt 1471068.00 947966.00 846541.00 1088525.00 0.16 0.12 0.09 0.12
24nt 170896.00 119441.00 114960.00 135099.00 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.02
25nt 82657.00 86359.00 66465.00 78493.67 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
26nt 89247.00 151105.00 112963.00 117771.67 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01
27nt 151490.00 242906.00 191590.00 195328.67 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.02
28nt 528928.00 1301596.00 1283661.00 1038061.67 0.06 0.16 0.14 0.12
29nt 314882.00 548439.00 530376.00 464565.67 0.03 0.07 0.06 0.05
30nt 108349.00 171554.00 168642.00 149515.00 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02
31nt 45733.00 56481.00 43980.00 48731.33 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.01
32nt 24132.00 35199.00 24415.00 27915.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
33nt 13544.00 24251.00 17755.00 18516.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
34nt 10175.00 18322.00 13640.00 14045.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
35nt 6635.00 13880.00 10368.00 10294.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

3.2. Data deposition

All the sequencing clean reads were deposited in the Short Read Archive (SRA) database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/), which are retrievable under the accession number [SRR6251260, SRR6251258, and SRR6251259] in the SRA database of NCBI.

4. Discussion

As shown in the results, miRNAs with a length of 22nt had the highest percentage of all identified miRNAs in the three replicates (Table 1). This is consistent with a previous study showing that miRNAs with a length of 22nt had the highest percentage in Andrias davidianus (Huang et al., 2017a,b). In order to search for the miRNAs expressed in all three replicates, miRNA expression levels of each pooled sample were estimated by TPM (transcript per million) through the criteria of Zhou et al. (2010). A total of forty-one known miRNAs and twenty novel miRNAs (TPM > 0) were identified from the three replicates (Table 2 and Table 3). The three most abundantly expressed known miRNAs were spu-miR-184, spu-miR-7, and spu-miR-1. Wang et al. found that miR-184 and miR-1 were two of the most expressed known miRNAs in the tube foot of healthy sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas (Wang et al., 2014). Taken both results together, we hypothesis that the expression trends of miR-184 and miR-1 were consistent in echinoderms. GO (Gene Ontology) analysis (http://www.geneontology.org/) showed that the identified miRNAs might regulate multiple genes involved in cellular components, molecular functions, and several bio-processes such as metabolic process, response to stimulus, and catalytic activity (Figs. 1-b and 2-b). This result could facilitate further studies on the specific roles played by miRNAs in sea urchins. Moreover, it is worthwhile to note that the number of conserved miRNAs in tube feet of the sea urchin S. intermedius was less than that in tube feet of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas, while the number of novel miRNAs in tube feet of S. intermedius was more than that in tube feet of A. japonicas (Wang et al., 2014). This observation indicates that miRNA expression profiles might vary among species. Many studies have documented that uracil (U) is the most common base as the first nucleotide located at 5′ end of miRNA (Greagg et al., 1999). A similar result was observed in the current study. An average of 78.56% of known miRNAs and an average of 84.23% of novel miRNAs had a relatively higher percentage of U at the first position in the tube foot of S. intermedius (Figs. 1-a and 2-a). The “seed region” (defined as the 2nd to the 8th nucleotides of miRNAs) has been demonstrated to be responsible for targeting mRNAs for gene regulation (Huang et al., 2017a,b). The strong bias of U at the 1st and 9th nucleotides might regulate miRNA-mRNA interaction through flanking the edges of the “seed region” (Zhang et al., 2009). Compared to the results from Mi et al. that 58.3% of known miRNAs from gonads of Strongylocentrotus nudus tend to use U as the first base (Mi et al., 2014), conserved miRNAs in the tube foot of S. intermedius exhibited a relatively stronger bias of U at the first position. Therefore, we postulate that there are species-specific and tissue-specific variabilities in conserved miRNAs when regulating target mRNAs in echinoderms. We also found that novel miRNAs with lengths of 24nt and 26nt exhibited a bias about 40.15%–50.00% of adenine (A) at the first position, which may need further research to study and clarify.

Table 2.

Known miRNAs identification from the tube foot of S. intermedius.

Known-miRNA Sequences (5′-3′) Length Mean readcount Mean TPM
spu-miR-92d UAUUGCACUUACCCCGGCUG 20 122.67 65.22
spu-miR-124 UAAGGCACGCGGUGAAUGCCA 21 10.00 5.28
spu-miR-96 UUUGGCACUAGCACAUUUUGC 21 21.67 11.59
spu-miR-2013 UGCAGCAUGAUGUAGUGGUGU 21 106.00 55.23
spu-miR-92e UAUUGCACUUACCCCGGCUUA 21 161.33 82.26
spu-miR-31 AGGCAAGAUGUUGGCAUAGCU 21 18875.67 9951.81
spu-miR-2010 UUACUGUUGAUGUCAGCCCCUU 22 2.67 1.28
spu-miR-252b CUAAGUAGUAGUGCCGCAGGUA 22 2.67 1.27
spu-miR-183 UAUGGCACUAUAGAAUUCACUG 22 3.00 1.42
spu-miR-210 UUGUGCGUGCGACAGCGACUGA 22 5.33 2.78
spu-miR-137 UAUUGCUUGAGAAUACACGUAG 22 11.33 6.22
spu-miR-92b-3p UAUUGCACUUGUCCCGGCCUGC 22 17.33 9.21
spu-miR-2001 AUGUGACCGAUAUAAUGGGCAU 22 38.33 20.92
spu-miR-278-5p UGGAAUGAAAGCCUCGCCAAUC 22 55.33 28.64
spu-miR-9-3p AUAAAGCUAGGUUACCAAAGAU 22 60.00 31.03
spu-miR-278-3p UCGGUGGGACUUUCGUUCGAUU 22 61.00 30.88
spu-miR-4852 AAUUCUAUCAUUUUGGCUGCAU 22 78.67 41.27
spu-miR-2011 ACCAAGGUGUGCUAGUGAUGAC 22 500.00 248.08
spu-miR-125-3p ACAGGUUGGUAUCUCAGGAAUU 22 631.00 325.71
spu-miR-9-5p UCUUUGGUUAUCUAGCUGUAUG 22 802.00 410.52
spu-miR-153-3p UUGCAUAGUCACAAAAGUGAUU 22 1706.33 906.22
spu-miR-200-5p CAUCAUACUGGACAGCAUUGGA 22 2654.67 1362.21
spu-miR-4847 UAAUGAUGGCGCGGUGCGGUGC 22 3506.00 1902.39
spu-let-7 UGAGGUAGUAGGUUAUAUAGUU 22 6961.00 3571.52
spu-miR-375 UUGUUCGUUCGGCUCGCGUCAA 22 10442.00 5430.47
spu-miR-2004 UCACACACAACCACAGGAAGUU 22 12090.67 6153.14
spu-miR-29a AAGCACCAGUUGAAAUCAGAGC 22 13320.33 7146.20
spu-miR-2012 UAGUACUGGCAUAUGGACAUUG 22 20244.33 10439.92
spu-miR-125-5p UCCCUGAGACCCUAACUUGUGA 22 23805.00 12701.23
spu-miR-34 CGGCAGUGUAGUUAGCUGGUUG 22 29303.33 15381.47
spu-miR-1 UGGAAUGUAAAGAAGUAUGUAU 22 266969.00 135440.97
spu-miR-184 UGGACGGAGAACUGAUAAGGGC 22 947961.00 479823.98
spu-miR-2003-3p CAGGUUAUGCCCUUUGGGUAGUA 23 1.00 0.52
spu-miR-92a UAUUGCACUUGUCCCGGCCUACU 23 17.33 9.21
spu-miR-10 AACCCUGUAGAUCCGAAUUUGUG 23 70.00 39.08
spu-miR-2007 UAUUUCAGGCAGUAUACUGGUAA 23 249.33 131.06
spu-miR-71 UGAAAGACAUGGGUAGUGAGAUU 23 2640.00 1423.26
spu-miR-2002-3p UGAAUACAUCUGCUGGUUUUUAU 23 2793.33 1439.96
spu-miR-200-3p UAAUACUGUCUGGUGAUGAUGUU 23 43303.00 22430.70
spu-miR-7 UGGAAGACUAGUGAUUUUGUUGU 23 483537.67 245439.18
spu-miR-182 UUUGGCAAUUGAUAGAAUUCACACU 25 26.67 13.18

miRNA expression levels were estimated by TPM (transcript per million) through the Normalization formula: Normalized expression = mapped read count/Total reads*1000000.

Table 3.

Novel miRNAs identification from the tube foot of S. intermedius.

Novel_miRNA Sequences (5′-3′) Length Mean readcount Mean TPM
novel_137 uuaauacacuuguggcucca 20 5.00 2.43
novel_98 uguaaaaauguguagaacagg 21 18.67 10.03
novel_181 aauccgguccuagaagcaaga 21 41.33 20.34
novel_50 aaauacuggcccuucuauuacc 22 2.00 1.04
novel_79 uccguuucguugacgaucagcc 22 2.33 1.12
novel_121 uuuuccgucucuuucguucguu 22 2.67 1.35
novel_147 auggggccuguaucacgacuau 22 3.00 1.42
novel_87 uuuucacaaagugacgguagug 22 3.33 1.66
novel_45 aaauuuguagcggcguuguagc 22 4.67 2.41
novel_39 auggccgucgcgcuguuggagu 22 6.67 3.80
novel_194 ucgacaucucuucaaacgcgug 22 11.67 6.67
novel_70 uugacuaucccauugaaacgug 22 13.33 6.91
novel_134 uggugucugucugcaugcuacu 22 28.67 15.78
novel_20 uuucacacuggucuagacaagg 22 84.67 44.86
novel_202 cugauugucaacgaaacggagu 22 127.00 63.95
novel_7 ugagguaguagguuguauaguu 22 36356.00 18847.28
novel_118 uuuguucguucggcucgcgucau 23 327.33 169.86
novel_8 uaaugcugucuggugaugauguu 23 35236.00 18243.18
novel_163 acaauggucguuggcaguguaccu 24 6.33 3.16
novel_113 aaggacaucagggugcaacugcca 24 9.67 5.54

miRNA expression levels were estimated by TPM (transcript per million) through the Normalization formula: Normalized expression = mapped read count/Total reads*1000000.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

First position nucleotide percentage and GO terms for predicted target genes of known miRNAs analyses of the tube foot in S. intermedius. a. Analysis of the nucleotide percentage at the first position of known miRNAs. b. GO terms for predicted target genes of known miRNAs of the tube foot in S. intermedius.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

First position nucleotide percentage and GO terms for predicted target genes of novel miRNAs analyses of the tube foot in S. intermedius. a. Analysis of the nucleotide percentage at the first position of novel miRNAs. b. GO terms for predicted target genes of novel miRNAs of the tube foot in S. intermedius.

In conclusion, an overview of miRNAs in the tube foot of sea urchin S. intermedius is provided in this preliminary study. Observations in this study increase the knowledge of non-coding RNAs in sea urchins and provide a new way for monitoring the health status of cultured sea urchins.

Declarations

Author contribution statement

Yaoyao Zhan: Conceived and designed the experiments; Analyzed and interpreted the data; Wrote the paper.

Yingying Li: Performed the experiments; Analyzed and interpreted the data; Wrote the paper.

Dongyao Cui, Jingxian Sun: Performed the experiments.

Qiantong Pei: Analyzed and interpreted the data; Wrote the paper.

Weijie Zhang: Analyzed and interpreted the data.

Yaqing Chang: Conceived and designed the experiments.

Funding statement

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31672652) and the Grant for Chinese Outstanding Talents in Agricultural Scientific Research (for Yaqing CHANG).

Competing interest statement

All authors have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Data associated with this study (all the sequencing clean reads) has been deposited at the Short Read Archive (SRA) database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/) under the accession numbers SRR6251260 (SI1), SRR6251258 (SI2), SRR6251259 (SI3).

Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. John Lawrence for editorial suggestions.

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