miRNA–mRNA integrated analysis reveals candidate genes associated with salt stress response in Halophytic Sonneratia apetala

Sonneratia apetala is a pioneering species of mangrove plants, which has evolved various mechanisms to tolerate salt-stress due to their long-term exposure to a salinized environment as compared to the of terrestrial freshwater plants. However, limited attempt has been made to uncover the underlying molecular mechanism of their saline adaptation. Here, we integrated mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) sequencing to identify the genes and pathways that may be involved in salt stress-response in the roots of S. apetala. A comprehensive full‑length transcriptome containing 295,501 high‑quality unigenes was obtained by PacBio sequencing technology. Of these, 6,686 genes exhibited significantly differential accumulation after salt stress treatment (p Q S. apetala roots, and identify potentially important genes and pathways associated with salt tolerance for further investigation. This study is expected to deliver novel insights in understanding the regulatory mechanism in S. apetala response to salt stress.