miRNA and mRNA expression analysis reveals the effects of continuous heat stress on antibacterial responses to Aeromonas hydrophila lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)

Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is the largest economic fish in freshwater culture in China, which is pre-disposed to infectious diseases under high temperature. Under the background of global warming, the indus-trialization of the Pearl River Delta region has led to aggravated thermal pollution, which has increasingly serious impacts on the aquatic ecological environment. This will result in more frequent exposure of grass carp to overheated water temperatures. Previous studies have only identified the regulatory genes of fish that respond to pathogens or temperature stress, but the transcriptional response to both is unknown. In this study, the histo-pathological analysis showed heat stress exacerbated spleen damage induced by Aeromonas hydrophila. The transcriptional responses of the spleens from A. hydrophila lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -injected grass carp un-dergoing heat stress and at normal temperatures for 6, 24, and 72 h were investigated by mRNA and microRNA sequencing. We identified 28, 20, and 141 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs and 126, 383, and 4841 DE mRNAs between the two groups after 6, 24, and 72 h, respectively. There were 67 DE genes mainly involved in the cytochrome P450 pathway, antioxidant defense, inflammatory response, pathogen recognition pathway, antigen processing and presentation, and the ubiquitin-proteasome system. There were 5 DE miRNAs involved in regulating apoptosis and inflammation. We further verified 17 DE mRNAs and 5 DE miRNAs using quantitative real-time PCR. Based on miRNAs and mRNAs analysis, continuous heat stress will affect the antibacterial re-sponses of grass carp spleens, resulting in aggravation of spleen injury. Together, these results provide data for further understanding of the decreased tolerance of fish to pathogen infection in persistent high-temperature environments.

Automated summary

This study investigated the transcriptional response of grass carp spleens to heat stress and pathogen injection. The results showed that continuous heat stress aggravated spleen injury and affected the antibacterial responses of grass carp spleens. The findings provide valuable data for understanding the decreased tolerance of fish to pathogen infection in persistent high-temperature environments.