Abstract
High temperature (HT) has recently become one of the most important abiotic stresses restricting crop production worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators in plant development and stress responses. However, knowledge of miRNAs of maize in response to HT is limited. In this study, we simultaneously adopted miRNA sequencing and transcriptome profiling to analyze the differential expression of miRNAs and mRNAs in maize during exposure to HT stress. Our analysis revealed 61 known miRNAs belonging to 26 miRNA families and 42 novel miRNAs showing significant differential expression, with the majority being downregulated. Meanwhile, the expression of 5450 mRNAs was significantly altered in the same stressed tissues. Differentially expressed transcripts were most significantly associated with response to stress, photosynthesis, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and signal transduction pathways. In addition, we discovered 129 miRNA–mRNA pairs that were regulated antagonistically, and further depiction of the targeted mRNAs indicated that several transcription factors, protein kinases, and receptor-like-protein-related transmembrane transport and signaling transduction were profoundly affected. This study has identified potential key regulators of HT-stress response in maize and the subset of genes that are likely to be post-transcriptionally regulated by miRNAs under HT stress.
Highlights
Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the world’s three most important cereal crops, along with rice and wheat, and holds a prominent position in the world’s agriculture
Obvious heat injury was observed in maize leaves after five days of exposure to High temperature (HT), and this symptom was very prominent in the 10th leaf of stressed plants (Figure 1A)
We found several important regulatory miRNA-mRNAs involved in HT stress, such as miR156-SBP/squamosa promoter binding protein-like (SPL), miR169-SBP, miR172-AP2, miR159-MYB, miR164-NAC, miR166-HD zip, miR396-growth regulating factor (GRF), miR5381-SAC2, and miRn202-vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 24 (VPS24) homolog 1, which can be further confirmed by an analysis of the degradome
Summary
Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the world’s three most important cereal crops, along with rice and wheat, and holds a prominent position in the world’s agriculture. High temperature (HT) has recently become one of the most critical abiotic stresses restricting maize production worldwide [1], including in the United States [2], France [3], and Africa [4]. The Yellow and Huai River valleys, which constitute one of the main summer maize production belts in China, frequently encounter heat stress at almost all growth stages, which has led to severe yield loss [5]. A 1 ◦C increase in the growing-season average temperature has been estimated to result in a loss of more than 10% of the maize yield due to frequent exposure to temperatures above 30 ◦C [4]. How to cope with HT stress is an urgent issue that needs to be solved
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
