Project description:Plant microRNAs are short (~21 nt), non-coding molecules that regulate gene expression by targeting mRNA cleavage or protein translation inhibition. In this manner, they play many important roles in the cells of living organisms. One of the plant species in which the entire set of miRNAs has not been yet completely identified is Brassica oleracea var. capitata (cabbage). For this reason and for the economic and nutritional importance of this food crop, Illumina high-throughput small RNAs sequencing has been performed to discover novel and conserved miRNAs in the mature cabbage leaves. In this study, raw reads generated from three small RNA libraries were bioinformatically processed and further analyzed to select sequences homologous to known B. oleracea and other plant miRNAs. As a result of this step, 267 conserved miRNAs (belonging to 62 families) have been discovered. The remaining unannotated tags were used in the prediction and evaluation of novel miRNAs, which resulted in the 26 potential miRNAs proposal. The expression of 13 selected miRNAs was analyzed by northern blot hybridization. To determine the functions and processes that these molecules may potentially regulate in cabbage leaves, GO annotation, GO enrichment analysis and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway mapping of the predicted targets were performed. Taken together, for the first time, the large set of miRNAs was identified in the mature cabbage leaves. Potential target designation for these miRNAs may suggest their important role in the plant growth, development and other primary biological processes. The presented study not only supplements the knowledge about B. oleracea miRNAs, but also may be used in other researches concerning the improvement of the cabbage cultivation.
Project description:The aim of the experiment was to identify the transcriptional changes between wild Brassica oleraceae lines (Winspit) and 2 cultivated lines (purple sprouting broccoli and savoy cabbage) that show different biofumigation phenotypes. Fully expanded leaves were compared from 8 week old plants.
Project description:We conducted a RNA-Seq analysis of MeJA-treated Chinese cabbage leaf transcriptome. Total 14,619,469 sequence reads were generated to produce 27,461 detected genes, among which 1,451 genes were up-regulated and 991 genes were down-regulated as differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (log2 ratio â¥1, false discovery rate â¤0.001). More than 90% of the DEGs (2,278) were between 1.0- and 3.0-fold (log2 ratio). The most highly represented pathways by 1,674 annotated DEGs were related to âmetabolic pathwaysâ (333 members), âribosomeâ (314 members), âbiosynthesis of secondary metabolitesâ (218 members), âplant-pathogen interactionâ (146 members), and âplant hormone signal transductionâ (99 members). Fourteen genes involved in JA biosynthesis pathway were up-regulated. As many as 182 genes for the biosynthesis of several secondary metabolites were induced, and the level of indole glucosinolate was highly increased by MeJA treatment. The genes encoding sugar catabolism and some amino acids synthesis were up-regulated, which could supply structural intermediates and energy for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. The results demonstrated a high degree of transcriptional complexity with dynamic coordinated changes in global gene expression of Chinese cabbage in response to MeJA treatment. It expands our understanding of the complex molecular events on JA-induced plant resistance and accumulation of secondary metabolites. It also provides a foundation for further studies on the molecular mechanisms of different pathways in other Brassica crops under MeJA treatment. Transcriptomic analysis of MeJA-treated Chinese cabbage leaf