New insights into the microRNAs of Bombyx mori

Bombyx mori (silkworm) is emerging as an ideal molecular genetic resource for solving a wide range of biological problems. With improved methods to explore the transcriptome, we have been identifying and understanding a variety of non-coding RNAs of silkworm. This presentation will firstly discuss different kinds of non-coding RNAs of all sizes which are newly identified in diverse tissues and development stages of the silkworm. Secondly, several tissue-specific miRNAs have been functionally determined in regulating special biological pathways of the silkworm by means of transgenic approaches and injection of specific antagomirs and mimics. Thirdly, the developmental stage transitions of silkworm are coordinated by let-7 and its cluster miRNAs. Fourthly, the targets of these miRNAs have been systematically identified by means of transcriptome and proteome analyses, combined with prediction and dual luciferase reporter assay. In summary, this is a comprehensive display of our latest findings of non-coding RNAs in the silkworm.