Abstract
Salvia miltiorrhiza is one of the most popular traditional medicinal herbs in Asian nations. Its dried root contains a number of tanshinones, protocatechuic aldehyde, salvianolic acid B and rosmarinic, and is used for the treatment of various diseases. The finding of microRNAs (miRNAs) and their target genes will help understand their biological role on the biosynthesis of tanshinones in S. miltiorrhiza. In the present study, a total of 452 known miRNAs corresponding to 589 precursor miRNAs (pre-miRNAs), and 40 novel miRNAs corresponding to 24 pre-miRNAs were identified in different tissues of S. miltiorrhiza by high-throughput sequencing, respectively. Among them, 62 miRNAs express only in root, 95 miRNAs express only in stem, 19 miRNAs express only in leaf, and 71 miRNAs express only in flower, respectively. By the degradome analysis, 69 targets potentially cleaved by 25 miRNAs were identified. Among them, acetyl-CoA C-acetyltransferase was cleaved by miR5072, and involved in the biosynthesis of tanshinones. This study provided valuable information for understanding the tissue-specific expression patterns of miRNAs in S. miltiorrhiza, and offered a foundation for future studies of the miRNA-mediated biosynthesis of tanshinones.
Highlights
Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, known as dan shen or tan shen, is one of the important traditional Chinese medicinal herbs
The main constituents are a number of tanshinones, such as the tanshinone I, tanshinone IIA and tanshinone IIB, and hydrophilic phenolics like the protocatechuic aldehyde, salvianolic acid B and rosmarinic
A total of 452 known miRNAs corresponding to 589 pre-miRNAs were identified (Table S1)
Summary
Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, known as dan shen or tan shen, is one of the important traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. Its dried root is used for the treatment of various cardiovascular diseases, menstrual disorders, blood circulation disturbances, inflammation, apoplexy, and tumor growth [1,2]. Tanshinone IIA has effective antioxidant activities, which can inhibit the association of lipid peroxidation products with DNA in liver cells [4], and is widely used to treat various cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases [5]. Salvianolic acid B possesses significant antioxidant activities [6], can decrease malondialdehyde level and attenuate brain and heart damages in mice and rabbits [7,8]. Due to the medicinal importance, S. miltiorrhiza becomes one of the most popular traditional herbal medicines in Asian nations, and is widely accepted as a health supplement in western countries [3,9]. Enhance yield of S. miltiorrhiza rRNA other Rfam RNA
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