title: The Small-RNA Profiles of Almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.) Reproductive Tissues in Response to Cold Stress.
abstract: Spring frost is an important environmental stress that threatens the production of Prunus trees. However, little information is available regarding molecular response of these plants to the frost stress. Using high throughput sequencing, this study was conducted to identify differentially expressed miRNAs, both the conserved and the non-conserved ones, in the reproductive tissues of almond tolerant H genotype under cold stress. Analysis of 50 to 58 million raw reads led to identification of 174 unique conserved and 59 novel microRNAs (miRNAs). Differential expression pattern analysis showed that 50 miRNA families were expressed differentially in one or both of almond reproductive tissues (anther and ovary). Out of these 50 miRNA families, 12 and 15 displayed up-regulation and down-regulation, respectively. The distribution of conserved miRNA families indicated that miR482f harbor the highest number of members. Confirmation of miRNAs expression patterns by quantitative real- time PCR (qPCR) was performed in cold tolerant (H genotype) alongside a sensitive variety (Sh12 genotype). Our analysis revealed differential expression for 9 miRNAs in anther and 3 miRNAs in ovary between these two varieties. Target prediction of miRNAs followed by differential expression analysis resulted in identification of 83 target genes, mostly transcription factors. This study comprehensively catalogued expressed miRNAs under different temperatures in two reproductive tissues (anther and ovary). Results of current study and the previous RNA-seq study, which was conducted in the same tissues by our group, provide a unique opportunity to understand the molecular basis of responses of almond to cold stress. The results can also enhance the possibility for gene manipulation to develop cold tolerant plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, P.O.Box 115, Iran.
authors.forename: Marzieh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, P.O.Box 115, Iran.
authors.forename: Farahnaz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ghazanfari
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, P.O.Box 115, Iran.
authors.forename: Adeleh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fadaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, P.O.Box 115, Iran.
authors.forename: Laleh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ahmadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, P.O.Box 115, Iran.|Institute of Biotechnology, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, P.O.Box 115, Iran.
authors.forename: Behrouz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shiran
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, P.O.Box 115, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rabei
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, School of Sciences, Razi University, Bagh-e-Abrisham Kermanshah, Iran.|Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fallahi
mesh_terms: D057773:Cold Shock Proteins and Peptides / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D003080:Cold Temperature; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D000068181:Prunus dulcis / Q000235:genetics*; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA
chemical_list: D057773:Cold Shock Proteins and Peptides; D035683:MicroRNAs; D018749:RNA, Plant