AUTHOR=Yang Deying , Xiao Feng , Li Jiamei , Wang Siqi , Fan Xiaolan , Ni Qingyong , Li Yan , Zhang Mingwang , Yan Taiming , Yang Mingyao , He Zhi 

TITLE=Age-related ceRNA networks in adult Drosophila ageing

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2023.1096902

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2023.1096902

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>As <italic>Drosophila</italic> is an extensively used genetic model system, understanding of its regulatory networks has great significance in revealing the genetic mechanisms of ageing and human diseases. Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA)-mediated regulation is an important mechanism by which circular RNAs (circRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate ageing and age-related diseases. However, extensive analyses of the multiomics (circRNA/miRNA/mRNA and lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA) characteristics of adult <italic>Drosophila</italic> during ageing have not been reported. Here, differentially expressed circRNAs and microRNAs (miRNAs) between 7 and 42-day-old flies were screened and identified. Then, the differentially expressed mRNAs, circRNAs, miRNAs, and lncRNAs between the 7- and 42-day old flies were analysed to identify age-related circRNA/miRNA/mRNA and lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA networks in ageing <italic>Drosophila</italic>. Several key ceRNA networks were identified, such as the dme_circ_0009500/dme_miR-289-5p/<italic>CG31064</italic>, dme_circ_0009500/dme_miR-289-5p/<italic>frizzled</italic>, dme_circ_0009500/dme_miR-985-3p/<italic>Abl</italic>, and XLOC_027736/dme_miR-985-3p/<italic>Abl</italic> XLOC_189909/dme_miR-985-3p/<italic>Abl</italic> networks. Furthermore, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to verify the expression level of those genes. Those results suggest that the discovery of these ceRNA networks in ageing adult <italic>Drosophila</italic> provide new information for research on human ageing and age-related diseases.</p>