Identification of Differentially Expressed Micrornas Associate with Glucose Metabolism in Different Organs of Blunt Snout Bream (Megalobrama amblycephala)

• Main Authors: Ling-Hong Miao, Yan Lin, Wen-Jing Pan, Xin Huang, Xian-Ping Ge, Ming-Chun Ren, Qun-Lan Zhou, Bo Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-05-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: microRNAs; wheat starch; glucose and lipid metabolism; Megalobrama amblycephala
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/18/6/1161

Blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) is a widely favored herbivorous fish species and is a frequentlyused fish model for studying the metabolism physiology. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive illustration of the mechanisms of a high-starch diet (HSD) induced lipid metabolic disorder by identifying microRNAs (miRNAs) controlled pathways in glucose and lipid metabolism in fish using high-throughput sequencing technologies. Small RNA libraries derived from intestines, livers, and brains of HSD and normal-starch diet (NSD) treated M. amblycephala were sequenced and 79, 124 and 77 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) in intestines, livers, and brains of HSD treated fish were identified, respectively. Bioinformatics analyses showed that these DEMs targeted hundreds of predicted genes were enriched into metabolic pathways and biosynthetic processes, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and insulin signaling pathway. These analyses confirmed that miRNAs play crucial roles in glucose and lipid metabolism related to high wheat starch treatment. These results provide information on further investigation of a DEM-related mechanism dysregulated by a high carbohydrate diet.