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Identification of miR‐305 , a micro RNA that promotes aging, and its target mRNA s in Drosophila
Author(s) -
Ueda Makiko,
Sato Tetsuya,
Ohkawa Yasuyuki,
Inoue Yoshihiro H.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
genes to cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1365-2443
pISSN - 1356-9597
DOI - 10.1111/gtc.12555
Subject(s) - biology , microrna , ectopic expression , messenger rna , rna , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , drosophila (subgenus) , gene
Micro RNA s (mi RNA s) are involved in the regulation of important biological processes. Here, we describe a novel Drosophila mi RNA s involved in aging. We selected eight Drosophila mi RNA s, displaying high homology with seed sequences of aging‐related mi RNA s characterized in other species, and investigated whether the over‐expression of these mi RNA s affected aging in Drosophila adult flies. The lifespan of adults over‐expressing miR‐305 , a mi RNA showing high homology with miR‐239 in C. elegans, was significantly shorter. Conversely, a reduction in miR‐305 expression led to a longer lifespan than that in control flies. miR‐305 over‐expression accelerated the impairment of locomotor activity and promoted the age‐dependent accumulation of poly‐ubiquitinated protein aggregates in the muscle, as flies aged. Thus, we show that the ectopic expression of miR‐305 has a deleterious effect on aging in Drosophila . To identify the targets of miR‐305 , we performed RNA ‐Seq. We discovered several mRNA s encoding antimicrobial peptides and insulin‐like peptides, whose expression changed in adults upon miR‐305 over‐expression. We further confirmed, by qRT ‐ PCR , that miR‐305 over‐expression significantly decreases the mRNA levels of four antimicrobial peptides. As these mRNA s contain multiple sequences matching the seed sequence of miR‐305 , we speculate that a reduction in target mRNA levels, caused by ectopic mi RNA expression, promotes aging.