title: microRNAs differentially modulated in response to heat and drought stress in durum wheat cultivars with contrasting water use efficiency.
abstract: Plant stress response is a complex molecular process based on transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of many stress-related genes. microRNAs are the best-studied class of small RNAs known to play key regulatory roles in plant response to stress, besides being involved in plant development and organogenesis. We analyzed the leaf miRNAome of two durum wheat cultivars (Cappelli and Ofanto) characterized by a contrasting water use efficiency, exposed to heat stress, and mild and severe drought stress. On the whole, we identified 98 miRNA highly similar to previously known miRNAs and grouped in 47 MIR families, as well as 85 novel candidate miRNA, putatively wheat specific. A total of 80 known and novel miRNA precursors were found differentially expressed between the two cultivars or modulated by stress and many of them showed a cultivar-specific expression profile. Interestingly, most in silico predicted targets of the miRNAs coming from the differentially expressed precursors have been experimentally linked in other species to mechanisms controlling stomatal movement, a finding in agreement with previous results showing that Cappelli has a lower stomatal conductance than Ofanto. Selected miRNAs were validated through a standardized and reliable stem-loop qRT-PCR procedure.
authors.affiliation: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Genomics Research Centre, Via San Protaso, 302, Fiorenzuola d'Arda, 29017, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giusti
authors.affiliation: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Genomics Research Centre, Via San Protaso, 302, Fiorenzuola d'Arda, 29017, Italy.|Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, Pisa, 56127, Italy.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mica
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, Pisa, 56127, Italy.
authors.forename: Edoardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bertolini
authors.affiliation: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Cereal Research Centre, SS 673 km 25,200, Foggia, 71122, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: De Leonardis
authors.affiliation: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Genomics Research Centre, Via San Protaso, 302, Fiorenzuola d'Arda, 29017, Italy.
authors.forename: Primetta
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Faccioli
authors.affiliation: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Genomics Research Centre, Via San Protaso, 302, Fiorenzuola d'Arda, 29017, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cattivelli
authors.affiliation: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Genomics Research Centre, Via San Protaso, 302, Fiorenzuola d'Arda, 29017, Italy. cristina.crosatti@crea.gov.it.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7265-4431
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crosatti
mesh_terms: D055864:Droughts; D006358:Hot Temperature; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D014908:Triticum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D014867:Water
keywords: Drought stress; Durum wheat; Heat stress; Stomata; WUE; miRNA