Uncovering ceRNA integrated networks that associate with fertility in a photoperiod and temperature sensitive male sterile wheat line

The pollen fertility of photoperiod/temperature sensitive genic male sterile (P/TGMS) wheat is controlled by light and/or temperature. Circular RNA (circRNA) and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) are known to participate in the development of anthers in plants, but their impact on male sterility in the P/TGMS line is not well understood. In this study, we carried out high-throughput sequencing to investigate the differential expression of lncRNAs and circRNAs and their biological functions in anthers of photo-thermosensitive genic male sterile (PTGMS) wheat line BS366-42L during the transition phase of male fertility under four different photoperiod and temperature treatments. Eight lncRNAs, 40 mRNAs and three circRNAs were screened out and thought as essential candidates that closely related to male sterility. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed to predict the potential functions of differentially expressed RNAs. The results indicated that carbohydrate-related metabolism was important for male sterility in the wheat PTGMS line BS366-42L. lncRNA/circRNA-mRNA-miRNA (ceRNA) integrate networks were constructed to reflect their complex inner association with male sterility. Our study provides a systematic perspective on the potential function of RNAs in male fertility in PTGMS lines of wheat.

光温敏核不育（photoperiod/temperature sensitive genic male sterile, P/TGMS）小麦的花粉育性受光照和/或温度调控。已知环状RNA（circular RNA, circRNA）与长链非编码RNA（long non-coding RNA, lncRNA）参与植物花药发育，但二者对光温敏核不育系雄性不育的调控效应尚未得到充分解析。本研究针对光温敏核不育小麦品系BS366-42L的花药，在四种不同光温处理下的育性转换期，采用高通量测序技术探究长链非编码RNA与环状RNA的差异表达模式及其生物学功能。最终筛选得到8个长链非编码RNA、40个mRNA与3个环状RNA，这些分子被认为是与小麦雄性不育密切相关的关键候选因子。通过基因本体（Gene Ontology, GO）与京都基因与基因组百科全书（Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, KEGG）富集分析，对差异表达RNA的潜在功能进行了预测。研究结果表明，碳水化合物相关代谢过程对小麦光温敏核不育品系BS366-42L的雄性不育具有关键调控作用。本研究构建了lncRNA/circRNA-mRNA-miRNA内源竞争RNA（ceRNA）调控网络，以揭示这些RNA分子与雄性不育之间的复杂内在关联。本研究为解析小麦光温敏核不育系中参与花粉育性调控的RNA潜在功能提供了系统性研究视角。