Wu Ying, Guo Jing, Cai Yimei, Gong Xiaolin, Xiong Xuemei, Qi Wenwen, Pang Qiuying, Wang Xumin, Wang Yang
Alkali Soil Natural Environmental Science Center, Northeast Forestry University/Key Laboratory of Saline-alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration in Oil Field, Ministry of Education, Harbin, 150040, China.
College of Life Sciences, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China.
Physiol Plant. 2016 Aug;157(4):453-68. doi: 10.1111/ppl.12419. Epub 2016 May 25.
Eutrema salsugineum, a close relative of Arabidopsis thaliana, is a valuable halophytic model plant that has extreme tolerance to salinity. As posttranscriptional gene regulators, microRNAs (miRNAs) control gene expression and a variety of biological processes, including plant-stress responses. To identify salt-stress responsive miRNAs in E. salsugineum and reveal their possible roles in the adaptive response to salt stress, we chose the Solexa sequencing platform to screen the miRNAs in 4-week-old E. salsugineum seedlings under salt treatment. A total of 82 conserved miRNAs belonging to 27 miRNA families and 17 novel miRNAs were identified and 11 conserved miRNA families and 4 novel miRNAs showed a significant response to salt stress. To investigate the possible biological roles of miRNAs, 1060 potential targets were predicted. Moreover, 35 gene ontology (GO) categories and 1 pathway, including a few terms that were directly and indirectly related to salt stress, were significantly enriched in the salt-stress-responsive miRNAs targets. The relative expression analysis of six target genes was analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and showed a negative correlation with their corresponding miRNAs. Many stress regulatory and phytohormone regulatory cis-regulatory elements were widely present in the promoter region of the salt-responsive miRNA precursors. This study describes the large-scale characterization of E. salsugineum miRNAs and provides a useful resource for further understanding of miRNA functions in the regulation of the E. salsugineum salt-stress response.
盐芥是拟南芥的近缘物种，是一种对盐具有极端耐受性的珍贵盐生模式植物。作为转录后基因调节因子，微小RNA（miRNA）控制基因表达以及包括植物应激反应在内的多种生物学过程。为了鉴定盐芥中盐胁迫响应性miRNA并揭示它们在盐胁迫适应性反应中的可能作用，我们选择了Solexa测序平台来筛选盐处理下4周龄盐芥幼苗中的miRNA。共鉴定出属于27个miRNA家族的82个保守miRNA和17个新miRNA，其中11个保守miRNA家族和4个新miRNA对盐胁迫表现出显著响应。为了研究miRNA的可能生物学作用，预测了1060个潜在靶标。此外，35个基因本体（GO）类别和1条途径，包括一些与盐胁迫直接和间接相关的术语，在盐胁迫响应性miRNA靶标中显著富集。使用定量实时聚合酶链反应（PCR）分析了六个靶基因的相对表达，结果显示它们与其相应的miRNA呈负相关。许多胁迫调节和植物激素调节顺式调节元件广泛存在于盐响应性miRNA前体的启动子区域。本研究描述了盐芥miRNA的大规模特征，为进一步了解miRNA在盐芥盐胁迫响应调控中的功能提供了有用的资源。
