AUTHOR=Evans Jay D. , Huang Qiang 

TITLE=Interactions Among Host–Parasite MicroRNAs During Nosema ceranae Proliferation in Apis mellifera

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00698

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2018.00698

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>We previously identified microRNA (miRNA) from <italic>Nosema ceranae</italic> and found that knockdowns of transcripts for the parasite protein <italic>Dicer</italic> greatly reduce parasite reproduction. In order to study parasitic miRNA functions and identify candidate target genes, we fed honey bees infected with <italic>N. ceranae</italic> with small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting the <italic>N. ceranae</italic> gene <italic>Dicer</italic>. We then deep-sequenced honey bee and <italic>N. ceranae</italic> miRNAs daily across a full 6-day proliferation cycle. We found seven honey bee and five <italic>N. ceranae</italic> miRNAs that were significantly differently expressed between the infection and siRNA-Dicer groups. <italic>N. ceranae</italic> miRNA showed potentially strong impacts on the <italic>N. ceranae</italic> transcriptome, where over 79% of the total protein coding genes were significantly correlated with one or more miRNAs. <italic>N. ceranae</italic> miRNAs also can regulate honey bee metabolism and immune response, given parasitic miRNAs were secreted into the cytoplasm. Our results suggest that <italic>N. ceranae</italic> miRNAs regulate both parasite and host gene expression, providing new insights for microsporidia parasitism evolution.</p>