Identification of Known and Novel <i>Arundo donax</i> L. MicroRNAs and Their Targets Using High-Throughput Sequencing and Degradome Analysis

oleh: Silvia Rotunno, Claudia Cocozza, Vitantonio Pantaleo, Paola Leonetti, Loris Bertoldi, Giorgio Valle, Gian Paolo Accotto, Francesco Loreto, Gabriella Stefania Scippa, Laura Miozzi

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-04-01

Deskripsi

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding molecules involved in the regulation of a variety of biological processes. They have been identified and characterized in several plant species, but only limited data are available for <i>Arundo donax</i> L., one of the most promising bioenergy crops. Here we identified, for the first time, <i>A. donax</i> conserved and novel miRNAs together with their targets, through a combined analysis of high-throughput sequencing of small RNAs, transcriptome and degradome data. A total of 134 conserved miRNAs, belonging to 45 families, and 27 novel miRNA candidates were identified, along with the corresponding primary and precursor miRNA sequences. A total of 96 targets, 69 for known miRNAs and 27 for novel miRNA candidates, were also identified by degradome analysis and selected slice sites were validated by 5′-RACE. The identified set of conserved and novel candidate miRNAs, together with their targets, extends our knowledge about miRNAs in monocots and pave the way to further investigations on miRNAs-mediated regulatory processes in <i>A. donax</i>, Poaceae and other bioenergy crops.