Functional analysis of microRNAs in cardiac development of fish species by RNA-Seq and reverse genetics

• Grant number: 13/06864-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2013
• End date: February 28, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Danillo Pinhal
• Grantee: Pedro Gabriel Nachtigall
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that play regulatory roles in plants and animals. These molecules inhibit translation through post-transcriptional regulation of messenger RNAs. In vertebrates, miRNAs have been linked to organismal evolution due to the observed correlation between abundance of miRNAs and complexity. Furthermore, miRNAs are key managers in the development and maintenance of specific tissues including the heart. However, studies focusing on the role of miRNAs in cardiac development were mostly carried out on birds and mammals. In fishes, the major group of living vertebrates, a small number of species was evaluated concerning the miRNA composition. The applicability of fish species on functional studies of miRNAs in cardiac development is relevant owing to the conserved ontogeny of vertebrate's heart. This proposal focuses on the identification by RNA-seq following functional characterization of miRNAs related to cardiac development in zebrafish and Nile tilapia. These fish species are commonly used as biological models and have the genome fully sequenced. Thus, from the structural and functional data generated it will be possible to identify the miRNA-mRNA associations accounting for the evolution of cardiac complexity in vertebrates, as well as to contribute with new insights for genetic therapies of cardiac diseases based on miRNAs. (AU)

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

NACHTIGALL, PEDRO G.; RODRIGUES-FILHO, LUIS F. S.; SODRE, DAVIDSON C. A.; VALLINOTO, MARCELO; PINHAL, DANILLO. A multiplex PCR approach for the molecular identification and conservation of the Critically Endangered daggernose shark. ENDANGERED SPECIES RESEARCH, v. 32, p. 169-175, 2017. (13/06864-7)

RIBEIRO, AMANDA OLIVEIRA; DE OLIVEIRA, ARTHUR CASULLI; COSTA, JULIANA MARA; NACHTIGALL, PEDRO GABRIEL; HERKENHOFF, MARCOS EDGAR; CAMPOS, VINICIUS FARIAS; DELELLA, FLAVIA KARINA; PINHAL, DANILLO. MicroRNA roles in regeneration: Multiple lessons from zebrafish. DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, SEP 2021. (14/03062-0, 13/06864-7, 18/14348-2, 18/05484-0, 19/15494-5)

NACHTIGALL, P. G.; LOBODA, T. S.; PINHAL, D.. Signatures of positive selection in the mitochondrial genome of neotropical freshwater stingrays provide clues about the transition from saltwater to freshwater environment. Molecular Genetics and Genomics, v. 298, n. 1, p. 13-pg., 2022-11-15. (13/06864-7, 12/02540-0)

HERKENHOFF, MARCOS E.; OLIVEIRA, ARTHUR C.; NACHTIGALL, PEDRO G.; COSTA, JULIANA M.; CAMPOS, VINICIUS F.; HILSDORF, ALEXANDRE W. S.; PINHAL, DANILLO. Fishing Into the MicroRNA Transcriptome. FRONTIERS IN GENETICS, v. 9, MAR 19 2018. (14/03062-0, 13/06864-7, 12/15589-7)

PINHAL, DANILLO; BOVOLENTA, LUIZ A.; MOXON, SIMON; OLIVEIRA, ARTHUR C.; NACHTIGALL, PEDRO G.; ACENCIO, MARCIO L.; PATTON, JAMES G.; HILSDORF, ALEXANDRE W. S.; LEMKE, NEY; MARTINS, CESAR. Genome-wide microRNA screening in Nile tilapia reveals pervasive isomiRs' transcription, sex-biased arm switching and increasing complexity of expression throughout development. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 8, MAY 29 2018. (12/13450-1, 12/15589-7, 15/16661-1, 15/19176-7, 11/06465-0, 13/06864-7)

OLIVEIRA, ARTHUR C.; BOVOLENTA, LUIZ A.; NACHTIGALL, PEDRO G.; HERKENHOFF, MARCOS E.; LEMKE, NEY; PINHAL, DANILLO. Combining Results from Distinct MicroRNA Target Prediction Tools Enhances the Performance of Analyses. FRONTIERS IN GENETICS, v. 8, MAY 16 2017. (14/03062-0, 13/06864-7, 12/13450-1, 15/19176-7)

NACHTIGALL, PEDRO G.; DIAS, MARCOS C.; CARVALHO, ROBSON F.; MARTINS, CESAR; PINHAL, DANILLO. MicroRNA-499 Expression Distinctively Correlates to Target Genes sox6 and rod1 Profiles to Resolve the Skeletal Muscle Phenotype in Nile Tilapia. PLoS One, v. 10, n. 3, MAR 20 2015. (11/06465-0, 13/06864-7, 12/15589-7)

NACHTIGALL, PEDRO G.; BOVOLENTA, LUIZ A.; PATTON, JAMES G.; FROMM, BASTIAN; LEMKE, NEY; PINHAL, DANILLO. A comparative analysis of heart microRNAs in vertebrates brings novel insights into the evolution of genetic regulatory networks. BMC Genomics, v. 22, n. 1, MAR 4 2021. (13/06864-7, 12/15589-7)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

NACHTIGALL, Pedro Gabriel. Functional genomics of micrornas in heart of vertebrates: using zebrafish as model organism. 2017. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Instituto de Biociências. Botucatu Botucatu.