Genome-wide identifcation of transcripts and miRNAs during somatic embryogenesis in Pinellia ternata

Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit, a well-known Chinese medicinal plants, is mainly produced by clonal propagation. Somatic embryogenesis (SEG) is a major process for plant regeneration, however, the molecular mechanism of SEG in P. ternata is still unclear. In this study, genome-wide mRNAs and small RNAs analysis were performed on the samples from three key stages of P. ternata SEG, including explant, calli and protocorm‐like bodies. The results showed that the increase in the content of auxins, I3CA and ICA1, contributed to the regeneration of P. ternata; PtAUX/IAA2, PtSAUR1, PtAEC1, PtAEC2, PtAUT1 and PtAUT2 were important regulatory genes for auxins action; AP2/ERFs and other 35 TFs were important components of the regenerative regulation network of P. ternata. Among the 1368 miRNAs identified in this study, miR396 were the key miRNAs involved in regulating P. ternata SEG.