Integrated analysis of miRNAs and transcriptomes in Aedes albopictus midgut reveals the differential expression profiles of immune-related genes during dengue virus serotype-2 infection

Mosquito microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in host‐virus interaction, and have been reported to be altered by dengue virus (DENV) infection in Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of Aedes albopictus midgut—the first organ to interact with DENV—involved in its resistance to DENV. Here we used high‐throughput sequencing to characterize miRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression patterns in Aedes albopictus midgut in response to dengue virus serotype 2. A total of three miRNAs and 777 mRNAs were identified to be differentially expressed upon DENV infection. For the mRNAs, we identified 198 immune‐related genes and 31 of them were differentially expressed. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses also showed that the differentially expressed immune‐related genes were involved in immune response. Then the differential expression patterns of six immune‐related genes and three miRNAs were confirmed by real‐time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, seven known miRNA‐mRNA interaction pairs were identified by aligning our two datasets. These analyses of miRNA and mRNA transcriptomes provide valuable information for uncovering the DENV response genes and provide a basis for future study of the resistance mechanisms in Aedes albopictus midgut.