Genome-wide miRNA expression profiling in potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) reveals TOR-dependent post-transcriptional gene regulatory networks in diverse metabolic pathway

PeerJ

article

Kexuan Deng¹  Huan Yin¹  Fangjie Xiong¹  Li Feng²  Pan Dong¹  Maozhi Ren¹ 

[1] School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University;Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Zhengzhou University;Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences;Chongqing Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Breeding for Tuber and Root Crops

关键词: Target of rapamycin;    microRNA;    Integrated miRNA-mRNA analysis;    Metabolism;    Solanum tuberosum L.;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.10704

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Target of rapamycin (TOR) operates as a hub of the signal transduction that integrates nutrient and energy signaling to promote cell proliferation and growth through mediating the transcriptional and post- transcriptional regulator networks in all eukaryotic species. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are widespread classes of small, single-stranded, non-coding endogenous RNAs and are widely found in eukaryotes, which play a vital role in regulating gene expression by degrading targeted mRNAs or translational repression at post-transcriptional level. Recent studies found that there were necessarily close connections between miRNA and TOR pathways in mammals. However, there is little information about the interplay between the miRNA and TOR in plants. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify potential TOR-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in TOR signaling through global mRNA and microRNA expression profiling in potato. Based on the previous high-throughput transcriptome sequencing and filtering, a total of 2,899 genes were significantly differentially expressed in potato under TOR inhibitors treatment. Pathway analysis revealed that these genes were significantly enriched in multiple metabolic processes. Similarly, in the present study, suppression of TOR resulted in 41 miRNAs up-regulated and 45 down-regulated, revealing that TOR plays a crucial role in the regulation of miRNA regulatory network. Furthermore, integrated mRNA and miRNA expression profiling uncovered that these miRNAs participated in large-scale metabolic process in the TOR signal pathway in potato, such as regulation of autophagy and ubiquitination, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Overall, the results shed new insight into TOR related post-transcriptional gene regulatory networks in potato and suggesting TOR-miRNA-targeting genes relevant networks as a potential genetic resource for potato improvement.

【 授权许可】

CC BY