Chen Hong, Wang Tao, Gong Zhiyou, Lu Hui, Chen Yong, Deng Fei, Ren Wanjun
Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in Southwest China of Ministry of Agriculture, Crop Ecophysiology and Cultivation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 621000, China.
College of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China.
Plants (Basel). 2022 May 9;11(9):1272. doi: 10.3390/plants11091272.
In animals and plants, circRNAs regulate gene expression and act as sponges that inhibit the activity of microRNAs. This study aimed to determine how specific circRNAs are expressed in rice grains at different stages of grain filling, under normal and low light conditions. We extracted total RNA from rice grains under low and sufficient light conditions. Deep sequencing was performed using circRNA libraries, and bioinformatics tools were used to identify the circRNAs. In addition, we analyzed targeted messenger RNA functions using two databases to predict the processes involved in rice grain development, and we conducted real-time PCR on 15 of the circRNAs as well as Sanger sequencing. During the grain development process, 8015 candidate circRNAs were isolated, among which the number of known circRNAs was 1661. We also found that the number of circRNAs changed with the time of development. Among them, six circRNAs acted as sponges that targeted more than two microRNAs at different stages of development, and these circRNAs showed a regulatory pattern consistent with the transcriptome sequencing results. More circRNA diversity was found under low light treatment compared to normal light. These findings reveal a possible link between circRNA regulation and the expression of the functional genes associated with photosignal-mediated rice grain development.
在动物和植物中，环状RNA（circRNA）调节基因表达，并作为海绵抑制微小RNA（miRNA）的活性。本研究旨在确定在正常光照和弱光条件下，特定的circRNA在水稻籽粒灌浆不同阶段是如何表达的。我们在弱光和充足光照条件下从水稻籽粒中提取了总RNA。使用circRNA文库进行深度测序，并利用生物信息学工具鉴定circRNA。此外，我们使用两个数据库分析靶向信使RNA的功能，以预测水稻籽粒发育过程中涉及的过程，并对15个circRNA以及桑格测序进行了实时聚合酶链反应（PCR）。在籽粒发育过程中，分离出8015个候选circRNA，其中已知circRNA的数量为1661个。我们还发现circRNA的数量随发育时间而变化。其中，有6个circRNA在发育的不同阶段作为海绵靶向两个以上的miRNA，并且这些circRNA显示出与转录组测序结果一致的调控模式。与正常光照相比，在弱光处理下发现了更多的circRNA多样性。这些发现揭示了circRNA调控与光信号介导的水稻籽粒发育相关功能基因表达之间可能存在的联系。
