Líffræðifélag Íslands
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2015
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster V55
Drífa Hrund Guðmundsdóttir, Kalina H. Kapralova, Zophonías O. Jónsson
Háskóli Íslands
Kynnir / Presenter: Drífa Hrund Guðmundsdóttir
Tengiliður / Corresponding author: Drífa Hrund Guðmundsdóttir (dhg1@hi.is)
In Þingavallavatn there are four morphs of Arctic charr, differing markedly in morphology, specifically in the structure of their feeding apparatus. It has been established that microRNAs play an essential role in animal development by regulating the expression levels of many developmental genes. MiR-206 is a skeletal muscle-specific miRNA known to play a key role in the regulation of developmental timing of myogenesis. This miRNA has been found to be differentially expressed during the development of contrasting Arctic charr morphs. In this study the spatial expression of miR-206 was analyzed in Arctic charr at three developmental stages (150 DD, 161 DD and 187 DD) using whole mount in situ hybridization (WISH). miR-206 was expressed in the muscles supporting the bones and cartilage of the feeding apparatus at all stages. Two candidate target genes were identified (tnnc and tmyo) using computational approaches. Both genes showed the same spatial expression pattern as miR-206 and qPCR analysis showed that their expression fluctuates in a manner opposite to that of miR-206. The results taken together suggest that both tnnc and tmyo are likely to be under miR-206 regulation. Significant differences were also detected in the expression levels of tnnc between two contrasting morphs (LB and AC), further indicating that miR-206 and its target genes may play a role in the shaping of the morphological differences between the Arctic charr morphs.