1
|
Ebrahimi Khaksefidi R, Mirlohi S, Khalaji F, Fakhari Z, Shiran B, Fallahi H, Rafiei F, Budak H, Ebrahimie E. Differential expression of seven conserved microRNAs in response to abiotic stress and their regulatory network in Helianthus annuus. Front Plant Sci 2015; 6:741. [PMID: 26442054 PMCID: PMC4585256 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 08/31/2015] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Biotic and abiotic stresses affect plant development and production through alternation of the gene expression pattern. Gene expression itself is under the control of different regulators such as miRNAs and transcription factors (TFs). MiRNAs are known to play important roles in regulation of stress responses via interacting with their target mRNAs. Here, for the first time, seven conserved miRNAs, associated with drought, heat, salt and cadmium stresses were characterized in sunflower. The expression profiles of miRNAs and their targets were comparatively analyzed between leaves and roots of plants grown under the mentioned stress conditions. Gene ontology analysis of target genes revealed that they are involved in several important pathways such as auxin and ethylene signaling, RNA mediated silencing and DNA methylation processes. Gene regulatory network highlighted the existence of cross-talks between these stress-responsive miRNAs and the other stress responsive genes in sunflower. Based on network analysis, we suggest that some of these miRNAs in sunflower such as miR172 and miR403 may play critical roles in epigenetic responses to stress. It seems that depending on the stress type, theses miRNAs target several pathways and cellular processes to help sunflower to cope with drought, heat, salt and cadmium stress conditions in a tissue-associated manner.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Shirin Mirlohi
- Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord UniversityShahrekord, Iran
| | - Fahimeh Khalaji
- Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord UniversityShahrekord, Iran
| | - Zahra Fakhari
- Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord UniversityShahrekord, Iran
| | - Behrouz Shiran
- Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord UniversityShahrekord, Iran
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, Shahrekord UniversityShahrekord, Iran
- *Correspondence: Behrouz Shiran, Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, PO Box 115, Shahrekord 8818634141, Iran ;
| | - Hossein Fallahi
- Department of Biology, School of Sciences, Razi UniversityKermanshah, Iran
| | - Fariba Rafiei
- Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord UniversityShahrekord, Iran
| | - Hikmet Budak
- Biological Sciences and Bioengineering Program, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci UniversityIstanbul, Turkey
| | - Esmaeil Ebrahimie
- Faculty of Agriculture, Institute of Biotechnology, Shiraz UniversityShiraz, Iran
- Department of Genetics and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of AdelaideAdelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Flinders UniversityAdelaide, Australia
| |
Collapse
|