Identification of Submergence-Responsive MicroRNAs and Their Targets Reveals Complex MiRNA-Mediated Regulatory Networks in Lotus (Nelumbo nuciferaGaertn).
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous non-coding RNAs with important regulatory functions in plant development and stress responses. However, their population abundance in lotus (Nelumbo nuciferaGaertn) has so far been poorly described, particularly in response to stresses. In this work, submergence-related miRNAs and their target genes were systematically identified, compared, and validated at the transcriptome-wide level using high-throughput sequencing data of small RNA, Mrna, and the degradome. A total of 128 known and 20 novel miRNAs were differentially expressed upon submergence. We identified 629 target transcripts for these submergence-responsive miRNAs. Based on the miRNA expression profiles and GO and KEGG annotation of miRNA target genes, we suggest possible molecular responses and physiological changes of lotus in response to submergence. Several metabolic, physiological and morphological adaptations-related miRNAs, i.e., NNU_far-miR159, NNU_gma-miR393h, and NNU_aly-miR319c-3p, were found to play important regulatory roles in lotus response to submergence. This work will contribute to a better understanding of miRNA-regulated adaption responses of lotus to submergence stress.
College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
Qijiang
Q
Jin
College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
Yingchun
Y
Xu
Horticulture Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University New York, NY, USA.
Neil
N
Mattson
Institute of Agricultural Science of Taihu Lake District Suzhou, China.
Xin
X
Li
College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
Bei
B
Wang
College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
Xiao
X
Zhang
Institute of Agricultural Science of Taihu Lake District Suzhou, China.
Hongwei
H
Jiang
Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing, China.
Xiaojing
X
Liu
College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
Yanjie
Y
Wang
Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing, China.
Dongrui
D
Yao
Nelumbo nucifera; high-throughput sequencing; microRNAs; small RNA; submergence