title: Characterization of small RNA populations in non-transgenic and aflatoxin-reducing-transformed peanut.
abstract: Aflatoxin contamination is a major constraint in food production worldwide. In peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), these toxic and carcinogenic aflatoxins are mainly produced by Aspergillus flavus Link and A. parasiticus Speare. The use of RNA interference (RNAi) is a promising method to reduce or prevent the accumulation of aflatoxin in peanut seed. In this study, we performed high-throughput sequencing of small RNA populations in a control line and in two transformed peanut lines that expressed an inverted repeat targeting five genes involved in the aflatoxin-biosynthesis pathway and that showed up to 100% less aflatoxin B1than the controls. The objective was to determine the putative involvement of the small RNA populations in aflatoxin reduction. In total, 41 known microRNA (miRNA) families and many novel miRNAs were identified. Among those, 89 known and 10 novel miRNAs were differentially expressed in the transformed lines. We furthermore found two small interfering RNAs derived from the inverted repeat, and 39 sRNAs that mapped without mismatches to the genome of A. flavus and were present only in the transformed lines. This information will increase our understanding of the effectiveness of RNAi and enable the possible improvement of the RNAi technology for the control of aflatoxins.
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Peanut Research Laboratory (NPRL), 1011 Forrester Dr. S. E., Dawson, GA 39842, USA. Electronic address: imanapower@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Imana L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Power
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Peanut Research Laboratory (NPRL), 1011 Forrester Dr. S. E., Dawson, GA 39842, USA.
authors.forename: Phat M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Peanut Research Laboratory (NPRL), 1011 Forrester Dr. S. E., Dawson, GA 39842, USA.
authors.forename: Victor S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Sobolev
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Peanut Research Laboratory (NPRL), 1011 Forrester Dr. S. E., Dawson, GA 39842, USA.
authors.forename: Valerie A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Orner
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Peanut Research Laboratory (NPRL), 1011 Forrester Dr. S. E., Dawson, GA 39842, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Peanut Research Laboratory (NPRL), 1011 Forrester Dr. S. E., Dawson, GA 39842, USA.
authors.forename: Marshall C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lamb
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Peanut Research Laboratory (NPRL), 1011 Forrester Dr. S. E., Dawson, GA 39842, USA.
authors.forename: Renee S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Arias
mesh_terms: D000348:Aflatoxins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010367:Arachis / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D018548:Cotyledon / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005819:Genetic Markers; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D034622:RNA Interference; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
chemical_list: D000348:Aflatoxins; D005819:Genetic Markers; D035683:MicroRNAs; D018749:RNA, Plant
keywords: Aflatoxin; Groundnut; Peanut; RNA interference; Small RNAs; miRNAs; siRNAs