Biopolymers and cell. 2009; 25 (3): 226 - 233

The search for microRNA genes in regions of two very late genes of Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus

T. V. Shirina, A. A. Vislovukh, M. T. Bobrovskaja, E. A. Kozlov

Aim. B. mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) codes two very late genes – polyhedrin (ph) and p10. Search for miRs genes in these regions is of interest because the polyhedra, formed at the very late stage of the virus development, include small RNA of 50–60 nt. The present work was aimed at search for potential precursors of miR transcribed from the late promoter element RTAAG and the TATA promoter elements located in the ph and p10 genes regions. Methods. The search was performed using the bioinformatic programs for miR prediction: MiPred, miRNA SVM, Micropoces- sor SVM, and RNAfold. Results. It has been predicted that the region of ph gene encodes two predicted miRs (bmoNPV-miR-1ph, bmoNPV-miR-2ph) and one predicted potential (C) precursor bmoNPV- pre-miR-1Cph, which is not a Dicer substrate. The region containing p10 gene encodes one predicted miR – bmoNPV-miR- 3p10. Conclusions. A possibility of regulation of the genes orf 1629 and p74 expression by the predicted miRs, located in the same regions of a complementary chain, is assumed.

Keywords: nuclear polyhedrosis virus, Bombyx mori, microRNA, bioinformatic method, prediction.