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Budnick A, Franklin MJ, Utley D, Edwards B, Charles M, Hornstein ED, Sederoff H. Long- and short-read sequencing methods discover distinct circular RNA pools in Lotus japonicus. THE PLANT GENOME 2024; 17:e20429. [PMID: 38243772 DOI: 10.1002/tpg2.20429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed single-stranded RNAs, generated through a back-splicing process that links a downstream 5' site to an upstream 3' end. The only distinction in the sequence between circRNA and their linear cognate RNA is the back splice junction. Their low abundance and sequence similarity with their linear origin RNA have made the discovery and identification of circRNA challenging. We have identified almost 6000 novel circRNAs from Lotus japonicus leaf tissue using different enrichment, amplification, and sequencing methods as well as alternative bioinformatics pipelines. The different methodologies identified different pools of circRNA with little overlap. We validated circRNA identified by the different methods using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and characterized sequence variations using nanopore sequencing. We compared validated circRNA identified in L. japonicus to other plant species and showed conservation of high-confidence circRNA-expressing genes. This is the first identification of L. japonicus circRNA and provides a resource for further characterization of their function in gene regulation. CircRNAs identified in this study originated from genes involved in all biological functions of eukaryotic cells. The comparison of methodologies and technologies to sequence, identify, analyze, and validate circRNA from plant tissues will enable further research to characterize the function and biogenesis of circRNA in L. japonicus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asa Budnick
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Megan J Franklin
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Delecia Utley
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Brianne Edwards
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Melodi Charles
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Eli D Hornstein
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Heike Sederoff
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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2
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Baruah PM, Bordoloi KS, Gill SS, Agarwala N. CircRNAs responsive to winter dormancy and spring flushing conditions of tea leaf buds. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2023; 336:111828. [PMID: 37586421 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are important regulators of diverse biological processes of plants. However, the evolution and potential functions of circRNAs during winter dormancy and spring bud flushing of tea plant is largely unknown. Using RNA-seq data, a total of 1184 circRNAs were identified in the winter dormant and spring bud flushing leaf samples of tea plants in two different cultivars exhibiting different duration of winter dormancy. A total of 156 circRNAs are found to be differentially expressed and the weighted gene co-expression network (WGCNA) analysis revealed that 22 and 20 differentially expressed-circRNAs (DE-circRNAs) positively correlated with the flushing and dormant leaf traits, respectively, in both the tea cultivars used. Some transcription factors (TFs) viz. MYB, WRKY, ERF, bHLH and several genes related to secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways are found to co-express with circRNAs. DE-circRNAs also predicted to interact with miRNAs and can regulate phytohormone biosynthesis and various signalling pathways in tea plant. This study uncovers the potential roles of circRNAs to determine winter dormancy and spring bud flushing conditions in tea plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pooja Moni Baruah
- Department of Botany, Gauhati University, Gopinath Bordoloi Nagar, Guwahati 781014, Assam, India
| | - Kuntala Sarma Bordoloi
- Department of Botany, Gauhati University, Gopinath Bordoloi Nagar, Guwahati 781014, Assam, India; Mangaldai College, Upahupara, Mangaldai 784125, Assam, India
| | - Sarvajeet Singh Gill
- Centre for Biotechnology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak 124001, Haryana, India.
| | - Niraj Agarwala
- Department of Botany, Gauhati University, Gopinath Bordoloi Nagar, Guwahati 781014, Assam, India.
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3
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Liu J, Zhang C, Jiang M, Ni Y, Xu Y, Wu W, Huang L, Newmaster SG, Kole C, Wu B, Liu C. Identification of circular RNAs of Cannabis sativa L. potentially involved in the biosynthesis of cannabinoids. PLANTA 2023; 257:72. [PMID: 36862222 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-023-04104-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
We identified circRNAs in the Cannabis sativa L. genome and examined their association with 28 cannabinoids in three tissues of C. sativa. Nine circRNAs are potentially involved in the biosynthesis of six cannabinoids. Cannabis sativa L. has been widely used in the production of medicine, textiles, and food for over 2500 years. The main bioactive compounds in C. sativa are cannabinoids, which have multiple important pharmacological actions. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play essential roles in growth and development, stress resistance, and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. However, the circRNAs in C. sativa remain unknown. In this study, to explore the role of circRNAs in cannabinoid biosynthesis, we performed RNA-Seq and metabolomics analysis on the leaves, roots, and stems of C. sativa. We identified 741 overlapping circRNAs by three tools, of which 717, 16, and 8 circRNAs were derived from exonic, intronic, and intergenic, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the parental genes (PGs) of circRNAs were enriched in many processes related to biological stress responses. We found that most of the circRNAs showed tissue-specific expression and 65 circRNAs were significantly correlated with their PGs (P < 0.05, |r|≥ 0.5). We also determined 28 cannabinoids by High-performance liquid chromatography-ESI-triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry. Ten circRNAs, including ciR0159, ciR0212, ciR0153, ciR0149, ciR0016, ciR0044, ciR0022, ciR0381, ciR0006, and ciR0025 were found to be associated with six cannabinoids by weighted gene co-expression network analysis. Twenty-nine of 53 candidate circRNAs, including 9 cannabinoids related were validated successfully using PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing. Taken together, all these results would help to enhance our acknowledge of the regulation of circRNAs, and lay the foundation for breeding new C. sativa cultivars with high cannabinoids through manipulating circRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingting Liu
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Chang Zhang
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Mei Jiang
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Ni
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Yicen Xu
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Wuwei Wu
- Guangxi Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plants, Nanning, 530023, People's Republic of China
| | - Linfang Huang
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Steven G Newmaster
- Natural Health Product Research Alliance, College of Biological Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G2W1, Canada
| | - Chittaranjan Kole
- International Climate Resilient Crop Genomics Consortium and International Phytomedomics and Nutriomics Consortium, Kolkata, 700094, India
| | - Bin Wu
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China.
| | - Chang Liu
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China.
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4
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Liu R, Ma Y, Guo T, Li G. Identification, biogenesis, function, and mechanism of action of circular RNAs in plants. PLANT COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 4:100430. [PMID: 36081344 PMCID: PMC9860190 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2022.100430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of single-stranded, closed RNA molecules with unique functions that are ubiquitously expressed in all eukaryotes. The biogenesis of circRNAs is regulated by specific cis-acting elements and trans-acting factors in humans and animals. circRNAs mainly exert their biological functions by acting as microRNA sponges, forming R-loops, interacting with RNA-binding proteins, or being translated into polypeptides or proteins in human and animal cells. Genome-wide identification of circRNAs has been performed in multiple plant species, and the results suggest that circRNAs are abundant and ubiquitously expressed in plants. There is emerging compelling evidence to suggest that circRNAs play essential roles during plant growth and development as well as in the responses to biotic and abiotic stress. However, compared with recent advances in human and animal systems, the roles of most circRNAs in plants are unclear at present. Here we review the identification, biogenesis, function, and mechanism of action of plant circRNAs, which will provide a fundamental understanding of the characteristics and complexity of circRNAs in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruiqi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Medicinal Plant Resource and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, National Engineering Laboratory for Resource Development of Endangered Crude Drugs in Northwest China, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710119, China
| | - Yu Ma
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Medicinal Plant Resource and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, National Engineering Laboratory for Resource Development of Endangered Crude Drugs in Northwest China, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710119, China
| | - Tao Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas and Institute of Future Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
| | - Guanglin Li
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Medicinal Plant Resource and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, National Engineering Laboratory for Resource Development of Endangered Crude Drugs in Northwest China, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710119, China.
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5
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Zhang P, Dai M. CircRNA: a rising star in plant biology. J Genet Genomics 2022; 49:1081-1092. [PMID: 35644325 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2022.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed single-stranded RNA molecules, which are widespread in eukaryotic cells. As regulatory molecules, circRNAs have various functions, such as regulating gene expression, binding miRNAs or proteins, and being translated into proteins, which are important for cell proliferation and cell differentiation, individual growth and development, as well as many other biological processes. However, compared with that in animal models, studies of circRNAs in plants lags behind and, particularly, the regulatory mechanisms of biogenesis and molecular functions of plant circRNAs remain elusive. Recent studies have shown that circRNAs are wide spread in plants with tissue- or development-specific expression patterns and are responsive to a variety of environmental stresses. In this review, we summarize these advances, focusing on the regulatory mechanisms of biogenesis, molecular and biological functions of circRNAs, and the methods for investigating circRNAs. We also discuss the challenges and the prospects of plant circRNA studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Mingqiu Dai
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
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6
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Fan K, Sze CC, Li MW, Lam HM. Roles of non-coding RNAs in the hormonal and nutritional regulation in nodulation and nitrogen fixation. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:997037. [PMID: 36330261 PMCID: PMC9623164 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.997037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Symbiotic nitrogen fixation is an important component in the nitrogen cycle and is a potential solution for sustainable agriculture. It is the result of the interactions between the plant host, mostly restricted to legume species, and the rhizobial symbiont. From the first encounter between the host and the symbiont to eventual successful nitrogen fixation, there are delicate processes involved, such as nodule organogenesis, rhizobial infection thread progression, differentiation of the bacteroid, deregulation of the host defense systems, and reallocation of resources. All these processes are tightly regulated at different levels. Recent evidence revealed that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), participate in these processes by controlling the transcription and translation of effector genes. In general, ncRNAs are functional transcripts without translation potential and are important gene regulators. MiRNAs, negative gene regulators, bind to the target mRNAs and repress protein production by causing the cleavage of mRNA and translational silencing. LncRNAs affect the formation of chromosomal loops, DNA methylation, histone modification, and alternative splicing to modulate gene expression. Both lncRNAs and circRNAs could serve as target mimics of miRNA to inhibit miRNA functions. In this review, we summarized and discussed the current understanding of the roles of ncRNAs in legume nodulation and nitrogen fixation in the root nodule, mainly focusing on their regulation of hormone signal transduction, the autoregulation of nodulation (AON) pathway and nutrient homeostasis in nodules. Unraveling the mediation of legume nodulation by ncRNAs will give us new insights into designing higher-performance leguminous crops for sustainable agriculture.
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Chand Jha U, Nayyar H, Mantri N, Siddique KHM. Non-Coding RNAs in Legumes: Their Emerging Roles in Regulating Biotic/Abiotic Stress Responses and Plant Growth and Development. Cells 2021; 10:cells10071674. [PMID: 34359842 PMCID: PMC8306516 DOI: 10.3390/cells10071674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), small interference RNAs (siRNAs), circular RNA (circRNA), and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), control gene expression at the transcription, post-transcription, and translation levels. Apart from protein-coding genes, accumulating evidence supports ncRNAs playing a critical role in shaping plant growth and development and biotic and abiotic stress responses in various species, including legume crops. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) interact with DNA, RNA, and proteins, modulating their target genes. However, the regulatory mechanisms controlling these cellular processes are not well understood. Here, we discuss the features of various ncRNAs, including their emerging role in contributing to biotic/abiotic stress response and plant growth and development, in addition to the molecular mechanisms involved, focusing on legume crops. Unravelling the underlying molecular mechanisms and functional implications of ncRNAs will enhance our understanding of the coordinated regulation of plant defences against various biotic and abiotic stresses and for key growth and development processes to better design various legume crops for global food security.
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MESH Headings
- Fabaceae/genetics
- Fabaceae/growth & development
- Fabaceae/metabolism
- Food Security
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
- Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
- Humans
- MicroRNAs/classification
- MicroRNAs/genetics
- MicroRNAs/metabolism
- Organ Specificity
- Protein Biosynthesis
- RNA, Circular/classification
- RNA, Circular/genetics
- RNA, Circular/metabolism
- RNA, Long Noncoding/classification
- RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics
- RNA, Long Noncoding/metabolism
- RNA, Plant/classification
- RNA, Plant/genetics
- RNA, Plant/metabolism
- RNA, Small Interfering/classification
- RNA, Small Interfering/genetics
- RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism
- Species Specificity
- Stress, Physiological/genetics
- Transcription, Genetic
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Affiliation(s)
- Uday Chand Jha
- ICAR—Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur 208024, India
- Correspondence: (U.C.J.); (K.H.M.S.)
| | - Harsh Nayyar
- Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India;
| | - Nitin Mantri
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne 3083, Australia;
| | - Kadambot H. M. Siddique
- The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth 6001, Australia
- Correspondence: (U.C.J.); (K.H.M.S.)
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Ma B, Liu Z, Yan W, Wang L, He H, Zhang A, Li Z, Zhao Q, Liu M, Guan S, Liu S, Qu J, Yao D, Zhang J. Circular RNAs acting as ceRNAs mediated by miRNAs may be involved in the synthesis of soybean fatty acids. Funct Integr Genomics 2021; 21:435-450. [PMID: 34148135 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-021-00791-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2020] [Revised: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Soybean oil is composed of fatty acids and glycerol. The content and composition of fatty acids partly determine the quality of soybean seeds. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are endogenous non-coding RNAs that competitively bind to microRNAs (miRNAs) through miRNA recognition elements, thereby acting as sponges to regulate the expression of target genes. Although circRNAs have been identified previously in soybean, only their expression has been investigated without exploration of the competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) network of circRNAs-miRNAs-mRNAs. In this study, circRNAs in immature pods of a low linolenic acid soybean Mutant 72' (MT72) and the wild-type control 'Jinong 18' (JN18) were systematically identified and analyzed at 30 and 40 days after flowering using high-throughput sequencing technology. We identified 6377 circRNAs, of which 114 were differentially expressed. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway analyses of targeted mRNAs in the ceRNAs network indicated that the differentially expressed circRNAs may be involved in fatty acid transport, suggesting that circRNAs may play a post-transcriptional regulatory role in soybean oil synthesis. This study provides a foundation for future exploration of the function of circRNAs in soybean and presents novel insights to guide further studies of plant circRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bohan Ma
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Zhanzhu Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Wei Yan
- Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Lixue Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Haobo He
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Aijing Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Zeyuan Li
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Qiuzhu Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Mingming Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Shuyan Guan
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Siyan Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Jing Qu
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
| | - Dan Yao
- College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China.
| | - Jun Zhang
- College of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China.
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Zhang J, Liu R, Li G. Constructing CircRNA-miRNA-mRNA Regulatory Networks by Using GreenCircRNA Database. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2362:173-179. [PMID: 34195963 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1645-1_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Circular RNA (circRNA) is a special class of endogenous RNA with a continuous loop structure, which plays important roles in metabolic processes. With the development of sequencing technology and algorithm for circRNA, more and more circRNA are identified in plants. However, the function of most plant circRNA remains unclear. In order to investigate the function of plant circRNA, we firstly build a plant circRNA database, named GreenCircRNA. Then we construct circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks to infer the function of plant circRNA. Here, taking Arabidopsis thaliana as an example, we firstly show the method for identification of circRNA and construction of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks based on GreenCircRNA database, then perform a case study for identifying circRNAs and inferring their function in A. thaliana. Our method can be easily extended and applied to other plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Medicinal Plant Resource and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Ruiqi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Medicinal Plant Resource and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Guanglin Li
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Medicinal Plant Resource and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
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