title: Drought stress-induced changes of microRNAs in diploid and autotetraploidPaulownia tomentosa.
abstract: Drought stress adversely affects plant productivity. Growth and timber production of Paulownia trees are limited under drought stress. Changes in gene expression patterns and miRNA in different ploidy ofPaulownia tomentosahave been investigated. However, the responses ofP. tomentosato drought stress at the microRNA (miRNA) level have not been reported so far. To identify miRNA candidates and their target genes involved in the drought stress response in diploid and tetraploidP. tomentosa, four small RNA and four degradome libraries from diploid and autotetraploidP. tomentosaunder normal and drought stress conditions were constructed and sequenced. A total of 41 conserved and 90 novel miRNAs were identified. Among these miRNAs, 67 (26 conserved and 41 novel) and 53 (six conserved and 47 novel) were significantly differentially expressed in response to drought stress in diploid and autotetraploidP. tomentosa, respectively. Degradome analysis identified 356 candidate miRNA target genes that encoded proteins with functions that included plant defense, transcriptional regulation, and hormone metabolism. In particular, miR4 and miR156 were identified only in autotetraploidP. tomentosaunder drought stress. These results will help us build a foundation for future studies of the biological functions of miRNA-mediated gene regulation inP. tomentosa.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Paulownia, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China ; College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xibing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Paulownia, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China ; College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guoqiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Paulownia, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China ; College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Paulownia, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China ; College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Minjie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Paulownia, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China ; College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhenli
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Paulownia, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China ; College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Suyan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Paulownia, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China ; College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Paulownia, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China ; College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, No 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Area, Zhengzhou, 450002 Henan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuanlong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: Autotetraploid; Degradome analysis; Drought stress; Paulownia tomentosa; microRNA