Identification and expression analysis of miRNA(s) in plant growth promoting rhizobacteria mediated drought stress alleviation in Cicer arietinum L.

The study aims to identify conserved and novel miRNAs expressed in the roots of a drought tolerant ‘desi’ chickpea cv. BG-362 via deep sequencing in the presence or absence of a PGPR, Pseudomonas putida RA. The experiment was designed with four treatments namely control, RA-inoculated (1% RA suspension), drought stressed and RA-inoculated + drought stressed seedlings. The present study is the first evidence demonstrating the genome-wide modulation of expression of stress-responsive miRNAs by a potential PGPR, P. putida RA in response to drought stress.