Differential Expression of Long Non-Coding RNA (lncRNA) in Mediterranean Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) Hemocytes under Immune Stimuli

Abstract

The Mediterranean mussel is one of the most economically relevant bivalve mollusk species in Europe and China. The absence of massive mortalities and their resistance to pathogens affecting other cultured bivalves has been under study in recent years. The transcriptome response of this species to different immune stimuli has been extensively studied, and even the complexity of its genome, which has recently been sequenced, has been suggested as one of the factors contributing to this resistance. However, studies concerning the non-coding RNA profiles remain practically unexplored—especially those corresponding to the lncRNAs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second characterization and study of lncRNAs in this bivalve species. In this work, we identified the potential repertoire of lncRNAs expressed in mussel hemocytes, and using RNA-Seq we analyzed the lncRNA profile of mussel hemocytes stimulated in vitro with three different immune stimuli: LPS, poly I:C, and β-glucans. Compared to unstimulated hemocytes, LPS induced the highest modulation of lncRNAs, whereas poly I:C and β-glucans induced a similar discrete response. Based on the potential cis-regulatory activity of the lncRNAs, we identified the neighboring protein-coding genes of the regulated lncRNAs to estimate—at least partially—the processes in which they are implicated. After applying correlation analyses, it seems that—especially for LPS—the lncRNAs could participate in the regulation of gene expression, and substantially contribute to the immune response.

Divergent Carry-Over Effects of Hypoxia during the Early Development of Abalone

“…It was suggested that these differentially expressed lncRNAs may shape the phenotypic plasticity of abalone by regulating the expression of genes involved in signal transduction, autophagy and apoptosis, and hormone regulation. So far, a lot of lncRNAs have been identified and classified in mammals and plants, , and there is also information available regarding the involvement of lncRNAs in fish, , mollusks, − and other marine invertebrates under certain environmental conditions. However, the exact function identification of lncRNAs in these non-model animals requires more efforts and breakthroughs in the future.…”

The native mussel Mytilus chilensis genome reveals adaptative molecular signatures facing the marine environment

“…Other ncRNAs, including miRNAs and snRNAs, were identified by searching against the Rfam database with default parameters using the infernal software (http://infernal.janelia.org/). Additionally, lncRNAs were identified using the pipelines previously proposed (Gallardo-Escarate, Figueras, & Novoa, 2019; Pereiro et al, 2021; Tarifeno-Saldivia, Valenzuela-Miranda, & Gallardo-Escarate, 2017).…”

“…Additionally, lncRNAs were identified using the pipelines previously proposed (Gallardo-Escarate, Figueras, & Novoa, 2019;Pereiro et al, 2021;Tarifeno-Saldivia, Valenzuela-Miranda, & Gallardo-Escarate, 2017).…”

“…Despite these predictions, meta-data analyses show that most of the studied multi-stressors had synergetic effects on organisms’ physiology (Crain, Kroeker, & Halpern, 2008b). Notably, isolated effects on mussel’s immune system of environmental stressors or pathogens infection have been extensively studied (Bibby, Widdicombe, Parry, Spicer, & Pipe, 2008; Lockwood, Sanders, & Somero, 2010; Malagoli, Casarini, Sacchi, & Ottaviani, 2007; Mitta et al, 2000; Pereiro, Moreira, Novoa, & Figueras, 2021; Rey-Campos, Novoa, Pallavicini, Gerdol, & Figueras, 2021; Romero, Novoa, & Figueras, 2022; Sendra et al, 2020). However, mussel’s immune response to the combination of stressors remains unexplored.…”

Long non-coding RNA LncMPEG1 responds to multiple environmental stressors by affecting biomineralization in pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii

“…LncRNAs are predicted to be important functions in the response to environmental stressors and regulate body growth in mollusks including exoskeleton biomineralization. For example, differential LncRNA expression profiles reveal the regulatory roles of LncRNAs in the against viruses and bacteria immune response of abalones, oysters, and mussels via links to multiple immune-related pathways, for instance, the toll-like receptor, NF-kappaB signaling pathway, pattern recognition receptors, lectin immune-related pathways, fibrinogen, and O-glycan biosynthesis (Sun and Feng, 2018;Lu et al, 2021;Pereiro et al, 2021). Also, LncRNAs are reported to participate in controlling shell formation and body growth by affecting pigmentation, shell matrix gene expression, and glycogen accumulation (Sun and Feng, 2018).…”