Differential sRNA regulation in leaves and roots of sugarcane under water depletion

In order to increase our understanding on the epigenetic regulation in response to abiotic stresses in plants, sRNA regulation in sugarcane plants submitted to drought stress was analyzed. Deep sequencing analysis was carried out to identify the sRNA regulated in leaves and roots of sugarcane cultivars with different drought sensitivities. An enrichment of 22-nt sRNA species was observed in leaf libraries. The pool of sRNA selected allowed the analysis of different sRNA classes (miRNA and siRNA). Twenty eight and 36 families of conserved miRNA were identified in leaf and root libraries, respectively. Dynamic regulation of miRNA was observed and the expression profile of eight miRNA was verified in leaf samples by stem-loop qRT-PCR assay. Altered miRNA regulation was correlated with changes in mRNA levels of specific targets. 22-nt miRNA triggered siRNA-candidates production by cleavage of their targets in response to drought stress. Some genes of sRNA biogenesis were down-regulated in tolerant genotypes and up-regulated in sensitive in response to drought stress. Our analysis contributes to increase the knowledge on the roles of sRNA in epigenetic-regulatory pathways in sugarcane submitted to drought stress. Screenning of sRNA transcriptome of sugarcane plants under drougth stress