Abstract:
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are defined as a class of RNA molecule with a length of over 200 nucleotides and without protein-coding function. On the exposure to environmental pollutants, dysregulated expression of lncRNAs has been observed, which is associated with several diseases such as cancer. A human-derived microarray was used to screen the zebrafish (
Danio rerio) lncRNA of zebrafish after sublethal triazophos treatment. The miRNAs and their target genes were predicted by the bioinformatics software. Finally, real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR was used to verify their relative expression in zebrafish, so that a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network was constructed. Results of real-time PCR showed that lncRNA Sox2OT was reduced by 35% after triazophos treatment compared with that of the control group. The expression of lncRNA H19 was up-regulated by 1.41-fold, while that of dre-let-7c was reduced by 78%. Furthermore, the expression of
ddx18, which may be the target gene of dre-let-7c, was up-regulated by 2.11-fold. The difference was significant (
P < 0.05). It's proposed that lncRNA H19 may interact with dre-let-7c as a competitive endogenous RNA to regulate the expression of
ddx18 after the triazophos treatment. Therefore, lncRNA H19, dre-let-7c and
ddx18 can be potentially used as biomarkers to monitor the effects of triazophos on the environment and organisms.