TY - JOUR
T1 - miRNA expression during prickly pear cactus fruit development
AU - Rosas-Cárdenas, Flor de Fátima
AU - Caballero-Pérez, Juan
AU - Gutiérrez-Ramos, Ximena
AU - Marsch-Martínez, Nayelli
AU - Cruz-Hernández, Andrés
AU - de Folter, Stefan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
PY - 2015/2
Y1 - 2015/2
N2 - miRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression. They are involved in the control of many developmental processes, including fruit development. The increasing amount of information on miRNAs, on their expression, abundance, and conservation between various species, provides a new opportunity to study the role of miRNAs in non-model plant species. In this work, we used a combination of Northern blot and tissue print hybridization analysis to identify conserved miRNAs expressed during prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus indica) fruit development. Comparative profiling detected the expression of 34 miRNAs, which were clustered in three different groups that were associated with the different phases of fruit development. Variation in the level of miRNA expression was observed. Gradual expression increase of several miRNAs was observed during fruit development, including miR164. miR164 was selected for stem-loop RT-PCR and for a detailed spatial–temporal expression analysis. At early floral stages, miR164 was mainly localized in meristematic tissues, boundaries and fusion zones, while it was more homogenously expressed in fruit tissues. Our results provide the first evidence of miRNA expression in the prickly pear cactus and provide the basis for future research on miRNAs in Opuntia. Moreover, our analyses suggest that miR164 plays different roles during prickly pear cactus fruit development.
AB - miRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression. They are involved in the control of many developmental processes, including fruit development. The increasing amount of information on miRNAs, on their expression, abundance, and conservation between various species, provides a new opportunity to study the role of miRNAs in non-model plant species. In this work, we used a combination of Northern blot and tissue print hybridization analysis to identify conserved miRNAs expressed during prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus indica) fruit development. Comparative profiling detected the expression of 34 miRNAs, which were clustered in three different groups that were associated with the different phases of fruit development. Variation in the level of miRNA expression was observed. Gradual expression increase of several miRNAs was observed during fruit development, including miR164. miR164 was selected for stem-loop RT-PCR and for a detailed spatial–temporal expression analysis. At early floral stages, miR164 was mainly localized in meristematic tissues, boundaries and fusion zones, while it was more homogenously expressed in fruit tissues. Our results provide the first evidence of miRNA expression in the prickly pear cactus and provide the basis for future research on miRNAs in Opuntia. Moreover, our analyses suggest that miR164 plays different roles during prickly pear cactus fruit development.
KW - Fruit
KW - Opuntia
KW - Prickly pear cactus
KW - miR164
KW - miRNAs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84922005633&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00425-014-2193-0
DO - 10.1007/s00425-014-2193-0
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 25366556
SN - 0032-0935
VL - 241
SP - 435
EP - 448
JO - Planta
JF - Planta
IS - 2
ER -