Ulu Ferhat, Unel Necdet Mehmet, Baloglu Mehmet Cengiz
Plantomics Research Laboratory, Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Kastamonu University, Kastamonu, Turkey.
Research and Application Center, Kastamonu University, Kastamonu, Turkey.
Planta. 2025 Jul 1;262(2):38. doi: 10.1007/s00425-025-04757-3.
This study provides novel insight into the role of miRNAs in the drought resistance of different wheat cultivars, revealing a correlation between ploidy level and drought tolerance. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, mostly conserved, non-coding regulatory RNAs with 20-24 nt in length. Although many studies have been conducted on miRNAs that play a role in wheat drought stress response, there are no comparative studies in wheat cultivars with different ploidy levels. Here we compared miRNAs profiles of three wheat cultivars with different chromosome numbers and drought resistance levels using miRNAome and qRT-PCR analysis. Bioinformatics analysis showed that all cultivars shared 93 miRNAs in the control leaf, while 91 miRNAs were shared in stress-treated leaf groups. A total of 90 and 92 miRNAs were expressed by all cultivars in control and stress root samples, respectively. Also, 17 and 21 miRNAs were expressed species-specifically in control and stress leaf, whereas 23 and 20 were expressed in control and stress root groups, respectively. Also, tae-miR159a and tae-miR167c expressions showed drought resistance increases as the ploidy level rises, and Triticum aestivum and Triticum turgidum are more tolerant than Triticum monococcum. Furthermore, according to in silico analysis 729 and 771 genes were targeted in control-leaf and stress-leaf groups of all cultivars; also, 775 and 776 genes were targeted in control-root and stress-root samples by determined miRNAs, respectively. Additionally, degradome data showed 351 and 356 genes were targeted in leaf and root tissues, respectively. These findings propose that genotypic variation is responsible for the differential expression of miRNAs and the target genes in drought stress response. The results could serve as a guide for future research on the drought response mechanism.
本研究为miRNA在不同小麦品种抗旱性中的作用提供了新的见解，揭示了倍性水平与耐旱性之间的相关性。微小RNA（miRNA）是内源性的、大多保守的、长度为20 - 24个核苷酸的非编码调控RNA。尽管已经对在小麦干旱胁迫响应中起作用的miRNA进行了许多研究，但尚未在不同倍性水平的小麦品种中进行比较研究。在这里，我们使用miRNA组和qRT-PCR分析比较了三个染色体数目和抗旱水平不同的小麦品种的miRNA谱。生物信息学分析表明，所有品种在对照叶片中共有93个miRNA，而在胁迫处理的叶片组中共有91个miRNA。所有品种在对照和胁迫根样本中分别表达了90个和92个miRNA。此外，17个和21个miRNA分别在对照和胁迫叶片中特异性表达，而23个和20个分别在对照和胁迫根组中表达。此外，tae-miR159a和tae-miR167c的表达表明，随着倍性水平的升高，抗旱性增强，普通小麦和硬粒小麦比一粒小麦更耐旱。此外，根据计算机分析，所有品种的对照叶片组和胁迫叶片组中分别有729个和771个基因作为靶标；同样，通过确定的miRNA，对照根和胁迫根样本中分别有775个和776个基因作为靶标。此外，降解组数据显示，叶片和根组织中分别有351个和356个基因作为靶标。这些发现表明，基因型变异是干旱胁迫响应中miRNA和靶基因差异表达的原因。这些结果可为未来干旱响应机制的研究提供指导。
