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Three gene families in plants viz. Argonaute (AGOs), Dicer-like (DCLs) and RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RDRs) constitute the core components of small RNA mediated gene silencing machinery. The present study endeavours to identify members of these gene families in tea and to investigate their expression patterns in different tissues and various stress regimes. Using genome-wide analysis, we have identified 18 AGOs, 5 DCLs and 9 RDRs in tea, and analyzed their phylogenetic relationship with orthologs of Arabidopsis thaliana. Gene expression analysis revealed constitutive expression of CsAGO1 in all the studied tissues and stress conditions, whereas CsAGO10c showed most variable expression among all the genes. CsAGO10c gene was found to be upregulated in tissues undergoing high meristematic activity such as buds and roots, as well as in Exobasidium vexans infected samples. CsRDR2 and two paralogs of CsAGO4, which are known to participate in biogenesis of hc-siRNAs, showed similarities in their expression levels in most of the tea plant tissues. This report provides first ever insight into the important gene families involved in biogenesis of small RNAs in tea. The comprehensive knowledge of these small RNA biogenesis purveyors can be utilized for tea crop improvement aimed at stress tolerance and quality enhancement.

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