Genome-wide discovery and characterization of long noncoding RNAs in African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)

Transcriptomic Complexity of Culm Growth and Development in Different Types of Moso Bamboo

Moso bamboo is capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction during natural growth, resulting in four distinct types of culms: the bamboo shoot-culm, the seedling stem, the leptomorph rhizome, and a long-ignored culm-the outward-rhizome. Sometimes, when the outward rhizomes break through the soil, they continue to grow longitudinally and develop into a new individual. However, the roles of alternative transcription start sites (aTSS) or termination sites (aTTS) as well as alternative splicing (AS) have not been comprehensively studied for their development. To re-annotate the moso bamboo genome and identify genome-wide aTSS, aTTS, and AS in growing culms, we utilized single-molecule long-read sequencing technology. In total, 169,433 non-redundant isoforms and 14,840 new gene loci were identified. Among 1311 lncRNAs, most of which showed a positive correlation with their target mRNAs, one-third of these IncRNAs were preferentially expressed in winter bamboo shoots. In addition, the predominant AS type observed in moso bamboo was intron retention, while aTSS and aTTS events occurred more frequently than AS. Notably, most genes with AS events were also accompanied by aTSS and aTTS events. Outward rhizome growth in moso bamboo was associated with a significant increase in intron retention, possibly due to changes in the growth environment. As different types of moso bamboo culms grow and develop, a significant number of isoforms undergo changes in their conserved domains due to the regulation of aTSS, aTTS, and AS. As a result, these isoforms may play different roles than their original functions. These isoforms then performed different functions from their original roles, contributing to the transcriptomic complexity of moso bamboo. Overall, this study provided a comprehensive overview of the transcriptomic changes underlying different types of moso bamboo culm growth and development.

Long Non-Coding RNAs: New Players in Plants

During the process of growth and development, plants are prone to various biotic and abiotic stresses. They have evolved a variety of strategies to resist the adverse effects of these stresses. lncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs) are a type of less conserved RNA molecules of more than 200 nt (nucleotides) in length. lncRNAs do not code for any protein, but interact with DNA, RNA, and protein to affect transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and epigenetic modulation events. As a new regulatory element, lncRNAs play a critical role in coping with environmental pressure during plant growth and development. This article presents a comprehensive review on the types of plant lncRNAs, the role and mechanism of lncRNAs at different molecular levels, the coordination between lncRNA and miRNA (microRNA) in plant immune responses, the latest research progress of lncRNAs in plant growth and development, and their response to biotic and abiotic stresses. We conclude with a discussion on future direction for the elaboration of the function and mechanism of lncRNAs.