Abstract
Abstract The agricultural yield of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is influenced by various abiotic stresses, including aluminum toxicity (Al3+). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a role in plant tolerance to such stresses by modulating the expression of several important target genes involved in plant growth. This study investigated the possible tolerance mechanisms of two sugarcane genotypes (CTC-2 and RB855453) under Al3+ stress through miRNA expression profiles and in silico analysis of target genes. The expression data obtained using RT-qPCR and co-expression network analysis identified two possible regulatory mechanisms in the tolerant genotype (CTC-2) under Al3+ stress. miR395 was involved in Al3+ detoxification, whereas miR160, miR6225-5p, and miR167 participated in the process of lateral root formation, conferring tolerance to the genotype. These findings might be useful for biotechnological strategies that aim for miRNA silencing or gene overexpression and provide subsidies for future genetic improvement programs aimed at the development of abiotic stress-tolerant sugarcane genotypes.
Highlights
Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is one of the most important crops for the global economy, and Brazil is the largest producer of sugarcane worldwide (FAOSTAT 2018)
Plants respond to stress conditions by different mechanisms, and among them, plants can regulate the expression of specific genes or through microRNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation (Çelik and Akdas 2019)
The mature miRNA sequences were obtained from the miRBASE database, and miRNA-modulated genes were predicted using psRNATarget software (Dai et al 2018) and WMD3-Web microRNA Designer 3.2 (Schwab et al 2006)
Summary
Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is one of the most important crops for the global economy, and Brazil is the largest producer of sugarcane worldwide (annual production of 746 million tons) (FAOSTAT 2018). Silva et al (2019) observed more than 390 miRNAs differentially expressed in two sugarcane cultivars with contrasting tolerance to aluminum stress. Physiological responses of plants can vary depending on crop, genotype, and cultivar, as they result from the expression of different sets of genes and are regulated by varying underlying mechanisms. Owing to the significant amount of data available, co-expression and gene regulatory networks have been used to identify and predict the functionality of individual genes within a biological system (Walley et al 2016). These co-expression networks have been important in identifying biological mechanisms by clarifying the interactions between genes (Rao and Dixon 2019). Considering the importance of miRNA-mediated genetic regulation and the possible genetic interactions identified by expression and co-expression analyses, a miRNA-mediated genetic interaction and regulation model was proposed to explain the tolerance mechanisms of sugarcane under Al3+ toxicity
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