Characterization of Three Key MicroRNAs in Rice Root Architecture under Drought Stress using In silico Analysis and Quantitative Real-time PCR

Behnam Bakhshi¹*, Ghasem Hosseini Salekdeh², Mohammad Reza Bihamta³ and Masoud Tohidfar⁴

¹Department of Plant Breeding, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. ²Department of Genomics, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, Karaj, Tehran, Iran. ³Department of plant Breeding, Agricultural and Natural Research College, University of Tehran, Karaj, Tehran, Iran. ⁴Department of tissue culture and genetic engineering, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, Karaj, Tehran, Iran.

ABSTRACT: Root is the main plant organ for water uptake and is the first organ that percept drought stress. Under drought stress conditions, plants change its root forming to cope with stress. MicroRNAs (MiRNAs) are small 19-24 nt regulatory RNAs and have important roles in biotic and abiotic stress. In this study, we evaluated characteristics, features, and differential expression of miR160, miR164, and miR167 under drought stress in rice root. These miRNAs have important role in root architecture especially under drought stress. We evaluated expression of these miRNAs in roots using qRT-PCR under normal and drought stress conditions. Results showed that miR160, miR164, and miR167 expression decreased in roots under drought stress. Target prediction showed important genes such as ARFs, F-Box and NAC1 are targeted by these miRNAs. In addition, we observed important regulatory elements in the upstream regions of these three MIRNA genes that confirmed their role under drought stress.

KEYWORDS: MicroRNA; Oryza sativa; Arabidopsis thaliana

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