Identifying potential maternal genes of Bombyx mori using digital gene expression profiling

Abstract

Maternal genes present in mature oocytes play a crucial role in the early development of silkworm. Although maternal genes have been widely studied in many other species, there has been limited research in Bombyx mori. High-throughput next generation sequencing provides a practical method for gene discovery on a genome-wide level. Herein, a transcriptome study was used to identify maternal-related genes from silkworm eggs. Unfertilized eggs from five different stages of early development were used to detect the changing situation of gene expression. The expressed genes showed different patterns over time. Seventy-six maternal genes were annotated according to homology analysis with Drosophila melanogaster. More than half of the differentially expressed maternal genes fell into four expression patterns, while the expression patterns showed a downward trend over time. The functional annotation of these material genes was mainly related to transcription factor activity, growth factor activity, nucleic acid binding, RNA binding, ATP binding, and ion binding. Additionally, twenty-two gene clusters including maternal genes were identified from 18 scaffolds. Altogether, we plotted a profile for the maternal genes of Bombyx mori using a digital gene expression profiling method. This will provide the basis for maternal-specific signature research and improve the understanding of the early development of silkworm.

Expression Analysis of mRNA Decay of Maternal Genes during Bombyx mori Maternal-to-Zygotic Transition

“…In our previous study, we obtained 76 potential maternal genes in the B . mori genome [48]. In this study, we blasted the NCBI database and the newly assembled silkBase by the sequence of each gene that was obtained from the silkworm database (SilkDB) [49].…”

“…In this study, we blasted the NCBI database and the newly assembled silkBase by the sequence of each gene that was obtained from the silkworm database (SilkDB) [49]. BGIBMGA012517 and BGIBMGA012518 are orthologous genes to MAMO in Drosophila melanogaster [48]. The sequences of BGIBMGA012517 and BGIBMGA012518 were found to be part of the KWMTBOMO05086 gene that was annotated in silkBase (Table 1).…”

“…In our previous study, 76 potential silkworm maternal genes were identified by orthologous comparison [48]. In this study, 68 of the 76 potential silkworm maternal genes were initially identified through further sequence alignment analysis, and 2 of the 68 maternal genes were not expressed in the silkworm eggs of virgin moths.…”

“…In our previous study, we identified 76 potential maternal genes in silkworm via orthologous comparison [48]. In this study, further sequence alignment analysis and the identification of these potential maternal genes were performed.…”

iTRAQ-Based Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Digestive Juice across the First 48 Hours of the Fifth Instar in Silkworm Larvae

“…Total RNA from the midgut samples of the three stages (named Mg0h, Mg24h and Mg48h) was used to synthesize the first strand cDNA using the PrimeScript Reverse Transcriptase kit (TaKaRa, Dalian, China) according to the instructions of the manufacturer. RT-qPCR was performed as we previously described [83]. The information of the selected differentially expressed genes and B. mori ribosomal protein gene BmRPL3 primers are presented in Table S10.…”