Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (8): 3474-3489.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2023.08.032

• PREVENTIVE VETERINARY MEDICINE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Differential Expression Profile of CircRNA in Protoscolex, Hydatid Cyst Wall and Adult of Echinococcus granulosus

WANG Zhengrong1,2*, MA Xun3, ZHANG Yanyan1,2, SUN Yan1,2, MENG Jimeng1,2, BO Xinwen1,2,3*   

  1. 1. State Key Labaratory of Sheep Genetic Improvement and Healthy Production, Shihezi 832000, China;
    2. Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Sciences, Shihezi 832000, China;
    3. College of Animal Science and Technology, Shehezi University, Shihezi 832000, China
  • Received:2022-07-26 Online:2023-08-23 Published:2023-08-22

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression profile of circRNA in protoscolex, hydatid cyst wall and adult of Echinococcus granulosus, and to provide theoretical basis for further elucidating the role of circRNA in the growth and development of Echinococcus granulosus.Total RNA was extracted from Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces, hydatid cyst wall and adult worms, and the circRNA, miRNA and mRNA libraries were constructed.The differentially expressed circRNA were screened by bioinformatics analysis and functional prediction, and then were analyzed by the GO, KEGG and ceRNA regulatory networks. The differentially expressed circRNA were validated by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR).In this study, 636 circRNA molecules were identified from protoscolex, cyst wall and adult of Echinococcus Granulosus, of which 140 were differentially expressed.The specific expression of circRNA was 44, 2 and 0 in protoscolex, cyst wall and adult worms, respectively.The results of the GO analysis showed that compared with protoscolices and cyst walls, the differentially expressed circRNA molecules in the adult worms were mainly concentrated in the biological processes of sexual reproduction, spermatogenesis, male gametogenesis, axogenesis, neurogenesis and differentiation.The results of KEGG analysis showed that the differentially expressed circRNA was significantly enriched in Notch, tricarboxylic acid cycle, phosphatidylinositol, riboflavin metabolic pathway and fatty acid synthesis and degradation pathway. The differentially expressed circRNA in cyst wall and protoscolices were significantly enriched in dorsal-ventral axis formation, Notch, wnt and FoxO signaling pathway.The differentially expressed circRNA in cyst wall and adult worms were significantly enriched in Notch, carbon metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway.Targeted prediction of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks showed that 164 up-down-up circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks were formed by 24 differentially expressed circRNAs, 14 miRNAs and 54 mRNAs, 36 down-up-down circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks were composed of 13 differentially expressed circRNAs, 7 miRNAs and 16 mRNAs.The results of qRT-PCR for some circRNA molecules showed that the mRNA transcription level was consistent with the RNA-sequencing results.In conclusion, this study is the first to systematically analyze the differential expression profiles of circRNA in protoscolex, cyst wall and adult Echinococcus granulosus, the potential regulatory network of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA of differentially expressed circRNA was predicted, the high expression and specific expression circRNA molecules in protoscolex, cyst wall and adult worms were also screened, this study lays a foundation for further research on the role of circRNA in the growth and development of Echinococcus granulosus.

Key words: Echinococcus granulosus, circRNA, protoscolex, adult worm, cyst wall, expression profiles

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