Genome-Wide Identification, Quantification, and Validation of Differentially Expressed miRNAs in Eggplant (Solanum melongenaL.) Based on Their Response toRalstonia solanacearumInfection

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a type of short noncoding RNA molecule (21–23 nucleotides), mediate repressive gene regulation through RNA silencing at the posttranscriptional level and play an important role in the defense response to abiotic and biotic stresses. miRNAs of the plant system have been studied in model crops for their diverse regulatory role while less is known about their significance in other plants whose genome and transcriptome data are scarce in the database, including eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.). In the present study, a next-generation sequencing platform was used for the sequencing of miRNA, and real-time quantitative PCR for miRNAs was used to validate the gene expression patterns of miRNAs in Solanum melongena plantlets infected with the bacterial wilt-causing pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum ( R. solanacearum ). Sequence analyses showed the presence of 375 miRNAs belonging to 29 conserved families. The miR414 is highly conserved miRNA across the plant system while miR5658 and miR5021 were found exclusively in Arabidopsis thaliana surprisingly, these miRNAs were found in eggplants too. The most abundant families were miR5658 and miR414. Ppt-miR414, hvu-miR444b, stu-miR8020, and sly miR5303 were upregulated in Pusa purple long (PPL) (susceptible) at 48 h postinfection, followed by a decline after 96 h postinfection. A similar trend was obtained in ath-miR414, stu-mir5303h, alymiR847-5p, far-miR1134, ath-miR5021, ath-miR5658, osa-miR2873c, lja-miR7530, stu-miR7997c, and gra-miR8741 but at very low levels after infection in the susceptible variety, indicating their negative role in the suppression of host immunity. On the other hand, osa-miR2873c was found to be slightly increased after 96 hpi from 48 hpi. Most of the miRNAs under study showed relatively lower expression in the resistant variety Arka Nidhi after infection than in the susceptible variety. These results shed light on a deeper regulatory role of miRNAs and their targets in regulation of the plant response to bacterial infection. The present experiment and their results suggested that the higher expression of miRNA leads to a decline in host mRNA and thus shows susceptibility.

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of Respiratory Burst Oxidase Homolog (RBOH) Gene Family in Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) under Abiotic and Biotic Stress

“…Eggplant ( S. melongena L.) is an important vegetable crop with rich nutrition and significant economic value. However, its growth cycle is lengthy, and its yield is often influenced by various adverse environmental factors [ 25 ]. Although numerous studies have demonstrated the regulatory roles of RBOHs in plant growth, development, and responses to stress [ 14 , 15 , 26 ], there have been no reports on SmRBOHs .…”

Decoding drought resilience: a comprehensive exploration of the cotton Eceriferum (CER) gene family and its role in stress adaptation

“…In this study, we identified 9 putative miRNAs targeting five GhCER genes, with three members of the ghr-miR414 family targeting three GhCER genes. It’s noteworthy that miR414 has been previously found to be associated with drought stress in barley [ 77 ] and rice [ 78 ], pollen development of Brassica rapa [ 79 ], disease resistance in aubergine ( Solanum melongena L.) [ 80 ], flower development in Hypericum perforatum L. [ 81 ]. , fibre formation [ 82 ], and in salt stress in cotton [ 83 ].…”