Vriesea carinata Transcriptome or Gene expression

miRNAs are small non-coding regulatory RNAs that play important functions in the regulation of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level by targeting mRNAs for degradation or by inhibiting protein translation. Bromeliaceae family is an example of a large and well described adaptive radiation of plant families in the Neotropics. This family is composed of terrestrial xerophytes and both facultative and obligatory epiphytes, occurring in a wide range of habitats. Bromeliads have different habits, varying from terrestrial to epiphytical, and are found from sea level to altitudes above 4,000 m, in both desert and humid regions, as well as in soils subject to regular floods and in places with very little or great luminosity. This huge habitat plasticity makes bromeliads an interesting model to study the expression of miRNAs in different natural conditions and the first step is to identify miRNAs and its targets. For this purpose, we used a high-throughput sequencing analysis (Solexa technology) of small RNAs (sRNAs) from the endemic South American species Vriesea carinata. Overall design: RNA profiles in 1 leaf library of Vriesea carinata by deep sequencing (Illumina HiSeq2000)