A comparative analysis of small RNAs between two Upland cotton backcross inbred lines with different fiber length: Expression and distribution
Guoyuan Liu,
Man Wu,
Wenfeng Pei,
Xihua Li,
Nuohan Wang,
Jianjiang Ma,
Xinshan Zang,
Shuxun Yu,
Jinfa Zhang,
Jiwen Yu
Affiliations
Guoyuan Liu
State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Cotton Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Anyang 455000, Henan, China
Man Wu
State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Cotton Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Anyang 455000, Henan, China
Wenfeng Pei
State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Cotton Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Anyang 455000, Henan, China
Xihua Li
State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Cotton Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Anyang 455000, Henan, China
Nuohan Wang
State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Cotton Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Anyang 455000, Henan, China
Jianjiang Ma
State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Cotton Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Anyang 455000, Henan, China
Xinshan Zang
State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Cotton Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Anyang 455000, Henan, China
Shuxun Yu
State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Cotton Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Anyang 455000, Henan, China; Corresponding authors.
Jinfa Zhang
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA; Corresponding authors.
Jiwen Yu
State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Cotton Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Anyang 455000, Henan, China; Corresponding authors.
The cotton fiber is the most important raw material for the textile industry and an ideal model system for studying cell elongation. However, the genetic variation of fiber elongation in relation to miRNA is poorly understood. A high-throughput comparative RNA-seq of two lines differing in fiber length (FL) from a backcross inbred line (BIL) population of G. hirsutum × G. barbadense revealed differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs and their targets in rapidly elongating fibers. A real-time quantitative PCR analysis was further performed to validate the results. A total of 463 (including 47 DE) miRNAs were identified, and seven DE miRNAs were co-localized with seven FL quantitative trait loci (QTL) identified in the G. hirsutum × G. barbadense population. Of 82 (including 21 DE) targets identified, nine (including one DE) were also co-localized with the seven FL QTL. The relationship between the allopolyploid and its diploid ancestral species with respect to miRNAs and their targets was also characterized. These results will facilitate the understanding of the molecular genetic mechanism of fiber elongation with regards to miRNAs in cotton. Keywords: Allopolyploid Gossypium, Fiber elongation, miRNA, QTL hotspots
