Identification of Known and Novel Arundo donax L. microRNAs and Their Targets Using High-Throughput Sequencing and Degradome Analysis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding molecules involved in the regulation of a variety of biological processes. Although they have been identified and characterized in several plant species, miRNAs in Arundo donax L., one of the most promising bioenergy crops, are still far to be identified and characterized. In the present study we identified, for the first time A. donax conserved and novel miRNAs together with their targets, through a combined analysis of the high-throughput sequencing of small RNAs and degradome libraries.