Niu Dongdong, Zhang Xin, Song Xiaoou, Wang Zhihui, Li Yanqiang, Qiao Lulu, Wang Zhaoyun, Liu Junzhong, Deng Yiwen, He Zuhua, Yang Donglei, Liu Renyi, Wang Yanli, Zhao Hongwei
First, second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and fourteenth authors: College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; first, second, third, fourth, sixth, and fourteenth authors: Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Nanjing Agricultural University), Ministry of Education; second author: Institute of Industrial Crops, Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Taiyuan 030000, Shanxi, China; fifth and twelfth authors: Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; eighth, ninth, and tenth authors: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; eleventh author: College of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; and thirteenth author: State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China.
Phytopathology. 2018 Jan;108(1):60-69. doi: 10.1094/PHYTO-03-17-0119-R. Epub 2017 Nov 28.
Small RNA (sRNA) is a class of noncoding RNA that can silence the expression of target genes. In rice, the majority of characterized sRNAs are within the range of 21 to 24 nucleotides (nt) long, whose biogenesis and function are associated with a specific sets of components, such as Dicer-like (OsDCLs) and Argonaute proteins (OsAGOs). Rice sRNAs longer than 24 nt are occasionally reported, with biogenesis and functional mechanism uninvestigated, especially in a context of defense responses against pathogen infection. By using deep sequencing, we identified a group of rice long small interfering RNAs (lsiRNAs) that are within the range of 25 to 40 nt in length. Our results show that some rice lsiRNAs are differentially expressed upon infection of Rhizoctonia solani, the causal agent of the rice sheath blight disease. Bioinformatic analysis and experimental validation indicate that some rice lsiRNAs can target defense-related genes. We further demonstrate that rice lsiRNAs are neither derived from RNA degradation nor originated as secondary small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Moreover, lsiRNAs require OsDCL4 for biogenesis and OsAGO18 for function. Therefore, our study indicates that rice lsiRNAs are a unique class of endogenous sRNAs produced in rice, which may participate in response against pathogens.
小RNA（sRNA）是一类能够使靶基因表达沉默的非编码RNA。在水稻中，大多数已鉴定的sRNA长度在21至24个核苷酸（nt）范围内，其生物合成和功能与特定的一组组分相关，如类Dicer蛋白（OsDCLs）和AGO蛋白（OsAGOs）。偶尔会报道长度超过24 nt的水稻sRNA，但其生物合成和功能机制尚未研究，特别是在针对病原体感染的防御反应背景下。通过深度测序，我们鉴定出一组长度在25至40 nt范围内的水稻长链小干扰RNA（lsiRNAs）。我们的结果表明，一些水稻lsiRNAs在感染水稻纹枯病病原体立枯丝核菌后差异表达。生物信息学分析和实验验证表明，一些水稻lsiRNAs可以靶向防御相关基因。我们进一步证明，水稻lsiRNAs既不是来自RNA降解，也不是作为次生小干扰RNA（siRNAs）产生的。此外，lsiRNAs的生物合成需要OsDCL4，功能需要OsAGO18。因此，我们的研究表明，水稻lsiRNAs是水稻中产生的一类独特的内源性sRNA，可能参与对病原体的反应。
