Title
Characterization of microRNAs from neem (Azadirachta indica) and their tissue-specific expression study in leaves and stem
Date Issued
01 June 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Tecnológico de Monterrey
Publisher(s)
Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Abstract
Neem (Azadirachta indica) is a very popular traditional medicinal plant used since ancient times to treat numerous ailments. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved, non-coding, short RNA molecules that play important regulatory roles in plant development and metabolism. In this study, deploying a high stringent genome-wide computational-based approach and following a set of strict filtering norms a total of 44 potential conserved neem miRNAs belonging to 21 families and their corresponding 48 potential target transcripts were identified. Important targets include Squamosa promoter binding protein-like proteins, NAC, Scarecrow proteins, Auxin response factor, and F-box proteins. A biological network has also been developed to understand the miRNA-mediated gene regulation using the minimum free energy (MFE) values of the miRNA-target interaction. Moreover, six selected miRNAs were reported to be involved in secondary metabolism in other plant species (miR156a, miR156l, miR160, miR164, miR171, miR395) were validated by qPCR and their tissue-specific differential expression pattern was observed in leaves and stem. Except for ain-miR395, all the other miRNAs were found overexpressed in the stem as compared to leaves. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of neem miRNAs and we believe the finding of the present study will be useful for the functional genomic study of medicinal plants.
Volume
11
Issue
6
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencias de las plantas, Botánica
Genética, Herencia
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85106244898
Source
3 Biotech
ISSN of the container
2190572X
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus