microRNA expression profile analysis in naked silkworm

Silk gland is highly specialized in the synthesis and secretion of silk protein in Bombyx mori, which is an important economically model insect, with silk production as typical character. MicroRNA (miRNA) plays important roles in many biological processes, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, etc. Nd and Nd-s are two kinds of fibroin-secretion-deficient silkworm mutants. Take silkworm Dazao as control, exploring the differences of miRNAs expression profile in silk glands of u02 (Nd) and u05 (Nd-s) will reveal the potential functions of miRNAs in silk proteins expression and silk gland development. In this study, we sequenced the small RNA libraries made from the whole silk gland of three strains using the Illumina platform. The microRNA expression profile of naked silkworm will pave the way for the development of silk gland and regulation of silk proteins expression.