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Prediction and characterization of novel micro RNA s from brown plant hopper, N ilaparvata lugens ( S tål) ( H emiptera: D elphacidae)
Author(s) -
Asokan R.,
Rebijith K.B.,
Ranjitha H.H.,
Roopa H.K.,
Ramamurthy V.V.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
entomological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1748-5967
pISSN - 1738-2297
DOI - 10.1111/1748-5967.12024
Subject(s) - delphacidae , hemiptera , biology , brown planthopper , botany , pest analysis , homoptera , gene , genetics
Micro RNA s (mi RNA s) are a family of small, endogenously initiated non‐coding RNAs that extensively regulate gene expression either by m RNA cleavage or by translational repression, thus playing important roles in the development and physiology of organisms. Experimental identification and characterization of spatially and temporally expressed mi RNA s is a monumental task in insects such as the brown plant hopper, N ilaparvata lugens, a major pest of rice and also a vector of T enuivirus. At this juncture bioinformatics approaches, which primarily depend on sequence homology and secondary structure verification, will be an invaluable tool. A total of nine novel mi RNA s were identified in N . lugens using the computational approaches from 1 13 718 E xpressed S equence T ags. The phylogenetic analysis was carried out to compare their level of conservation with respect to other members of the animal kingdom. The functional annotation of these newly identified miRNAs revealed that the majority of them are involved in the transcription regulatory activity and signal transduction pathways. These regulatory impacts are promising towards insect pest management but need further experimental validation and functional analyses. Thus, the outcome of this study will help to carry out the gene knockdown and transgenesis studies for the functional analysis of the newly identified mi RNA ‐regulated phenotypes in N . lugens.