Zhu Kaikai, Wei Lu, Ma Wenjuan, Zhao Juan, Chen Mengyun, Wei Guo, Liu Hui, Tan Pengpeng, Peng Fangren
Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
Foods. 2024 Sep 16;13(18):2934. doi: 10.3390/foods13182934.
Pecan seed oil is a valuable source of essential fatty acids and various bioactive compounds; however, the functions of microRNAs and their targets in oil biosynthesis during seed development are still unknown. Here, we found that the oil content increased rapidly in the three early stages in three cultivars, and that oleic acid was the predominant fatty acid component in the mature pecan embryos. We identified, analyzed, and validated the expression levels of miRNAs related to seed development and oil biosynthesis, as well as their potential target genes, using small RNA sequencing data from three stages (120, 135, and 150 days after flowering). During the seed development process, 365 known and 321 novel miRNAs were discovered. In total, 91 known and 181 novel miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed, and 633 target genes were further investigated. The expression trend analysis revealed that the 91 known miRNAs were classified into eight groups, approximately two-thirds of which were up-regulated, whereas most novel miRNAs were down-regulated. The qRT-PCR and degradome sequencing data were used to identify five miRNA- target pairs. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into the molecular regulation of oil biosynthesis in pecan seeds.
山核桃籽油是必需脂肪酸和各种生物活性化合物的宝贵来源；然而，种子发育过程中微小RNA（miRNA）及其靶标在油脂生物合成中的功能仍不清楚。在此，我们发现三个品种在三个早期阶段的油脂含量迅速增加，且油酸是成熟山核桃胚中的主要脂肪酸成分。我们利用三个阶段（开花后120、135和150天）的小RNA测序数据，鉴定、分析并验证了与种子发育和油脂生物合成相关的miRNA的表达水平及其潜在靶基因。在种子发育过程中，共发现365个已知miRNA和321个新miRNA。总共发现91个已知miRNA和181个新miRNA差异表达，并进一步研究了633个靶基因。表达趋势分析表明，91个已知miRNA分为八组，其中约三分之二上调，而大多数新miRNA下调。利用qRT-PCR和降解组测序数据鉴定了五对miRNA-靶标对。总体而言，我们的研究为山核桃种子油脂生物合成的分子调控提供了有价值的见解。
