Record Details

Structural and Functional Characteristics of miRNAs in Five Strategic Millet Species and Their Utility in Drought Tolerance

OAR@ICRISAT

View Archive Info
 
 
Field Value
 
Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/11752/
https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.608421
doi:10.3389/fgene.2020.608421
 
Title Structural and Functional Characteristics of miRNAs in Five Strategic Millet Species and Their Utility in Drought Tolerance
 
Creator Chakraborty, A
Viswanath, A
Malipatil, R
Rathore, A
Thirunavukkarasu, N
 
Subject Drought Tolerance
Millets
Food and Nutrition
 
Description Millets are the strategic food crops in arid and drought-prone ecologies. Millets, by virtue
of nature, are very well-adapted to drought conditions and able to produce sustainable
yield.Millets have important nutrients that can help preventmicro-nutrientmalnutrition. As
a result of the adverse effect of climate change and widespread malnutrition, millets have
attained a strategic position to sustain food and nutritional security. Although millets can
adapt well to the drought ecologies where other cereals fail completely, the yield level is
very low under stress. There is a tremendous opportunity to increase the genetic potential
of millet crops in dry lands when the genetics of the drought-tolerance mechanism is fully
explained. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are the class of small RNAs that control trait expression.
They are part of the gene regulation but little studied in millets. In the present study,
novel miRNAs and gene targets were identified from the genomic resources of pearl
millet, sorghum, foxtail millet, finger millet, and proso millet through in silico approaches.
A total of 1,002 miRNAs from 280 families regulating 23,158 targets were identified
using different filtration criteria in five millet species. The unique as well as conserved
structural features and functional characteristics of miRNA across millets were explained.
About 84miRNAs were conserved acrossmillets in different species combinations, which
explained the evolutionary relationship of the millets. Further, 215 miRNAs controlling
155 unique major drought-responsive genes, transcription factors, and protein families
revealed the genetics of drought tolerance that are accumulated in the millet genomes.
The miRNAs regulating the drought stress through specific targets or multiple targets
showed through a network analysis. The identified genes regulated by miRNA genes
could be useful in developing functional markers and used for yield improvement under
drought in millets as well as in other crops.
 
Publisher Frontiers Media
 
Date 2020-12
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/11752/1/fgene-11-608421.pdf
Chakraborty, A and Viswanath, A and Malipatil, R and Rathore, A and Thirunavukkarasu, N (2020) Structural and Functional Characteristics of miRNAs in Five Strategic Millet Species and Their Utility in Drought Tolerance. Frontiers in Genetics (TSI), 11 (608421). pp. 1-15. ISSN 1664-8021