Effects of exposure to Streptococcus iniae on microRNA expression in the head kidney of genetically improved farmed tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

BACKGROUND: Genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT, Oreochromis niloticus) are susceptible to infection by Streptococcus iniae when maintained in modern intensive culture systems. GIFT are commercially important fishes that are cultured widely in southern China. The role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the regulatory response of GIFT to S. iniae infection has been underestimated and has not yet been well studied. Head kidney has an important immune function in teleost fishes. The main aim of this study was to determine the possible function of miRNAs in head kidney of S. iniae-infected GIFT. MiRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by binding to the 3'-untranslated regions of their target mRNAs. MiRNAs are known to regulate immune-regulated signaling and inflammatory response pathways. RESULTS: High-throughput deep sequencing of two libraries (control group [CO] and infected group [IN]) of RNA extracted from GIFT head kidney tissues generated 12,089,630 (CO) and 12,624,975 (IN) clean reads. Bioinformatics analysis identified 1736 and 1729 conserved miRNAs and 164 and 165 novel miRNAs in the CO and IN libraries, respectively. Three miRNAs (miR-310-3p, miR-92, and miR-127) were found to be up-regulated and four miRNAs (miR-92d-3p, miR-375-5p, miR-146-3p, and miR-694) were found to be down-regulated in the S. iniae-infected GIFT. The expressions of these miRNAs were verified by quantitative real-time PCR. RNAhybrid and TargetScan were used to identify complementary miRNA and mRNA target sites, and the Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases were used to annotate and predict potential downstream regulation of biological pathways. Seven target genes, which encode immune-related proteins (complement C3, cytidine deaminase, regulator of G-protein Rgs22, mitogen-activated protein kinase Mapk1, metabotropic glutamate receptorm GluR8, calcium-sensing receptor CaSR, and microtubule-associated protein Map1S) were predicted to play crucial roles in the GIFT response to S. iniae infection. CONCLUSIONS: S. iniae outbreaks have hindered the development of the tilapia industry in China. Understanding the miRNA transcriptome of S. iniae-infected GIFT is important for exploring the immune responses regulated by miRNAs as well as for studying novel regulated networks to prevent and treat S. iniae infections in the future.

Preparation of platinum nanoparticle catalyst for propane dehydrogenation.

Supported Pt nanoparticle catalysts were prepared by combing a chemical reduction method with an ultrasonic sonication loading method. Several techniques including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen sorption technique and pyridine adsorption Fourier-transform infrared (Py-IR) were applied to characterize the physicochemical properties of these catalysts. The catalytic performance of catalysts was evaluated in the dehydrogenation of propane. The influence of the preparation method of Pt nanoparticles, the ratio of Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone (PVP) to Pt, loading method and different supports on the catalytic performance was investigated. PVP is useful for controlling the size of Pt nanoparticles and a PVP/Pt ratio of 15 is favorable to achieve a good catalytic performance. NaBH4 reduction is better than ethanol refluxing in preparing Pt nanoparticles. The ultrasonic sonication is effective to load the Pt nanoparticles onto the support channels. The mesoporous alumina proved to be a good catalyst support due to its high surface area and unique pore structure.