TY  - JOUR
N2  - Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is an important crop in arid and semi-arid areas of India and
Africa. It is well known for its tolerance to abiotic stresses, but it lags behind other cereals in terms of
research and development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a versatile group of small regulatory RNAs of 20?22
bases that play important roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. However, the regulatory
mechanisms underlying miRNA-mediated responses to salinity stress in pearl millet are still unclear. In this
study, we performed small RNA sequencing to identify conserved and novel miRNAs from the salinity tolerant
pearl millet genotype. In total, 130 million sequence reads were generated, and 81 conserved and 14
novel miRNAs were identified as salinity stress responsive microRNAs. We also performed target prediction
for these miRNAs, and a total of 448 pearl millet mRNAs were identified as the targets. Among these target
mRNAs, 122 (~25%) encode transcription factors. A pathway analysis showed that differentially expressed
miRNAs and their target genes can regulate the auxin response pathway. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis
of miRNAs and their targets showed consistent expression patterns. These results suggest that miRNAs play
a role in salinity stress tolerance in pearl millet.
AV  - public
KW  - Pearl millet
KW  -  Salinity stress
KW  -  miRNAs
KW  -  Transcription factors
KW  -  Auxin response pathway
A1  - Shinde, H
A1  - Dudhate, A
A1  - Anand, L
A1  - Tsugama, D
A1  - Gupta, S K
A1  - Liu, S
A1  - Takano, T
TI  - Small RNA sequencing reveals the role of pearl millet miRNAs and their targets in salinity stress responses
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2020.06.011
JF  - South African Journal of Botany (TSI)
SP  - 395
Y1  - 2020/06//
ID  - icrisat11688
EP  - 402
SN  - 0254-6299
VL  - 132
PB  - Elsevier
ER  -