Supported by the Missouri Life Sciences Research Board
Ultrahigh-throughput sequences profiling of small RNA in Brachypodium distachyon, an emerging model for cereal and biofuel crops.
Small RNAs, which include microRNAs (miRNAs), endogenous small interfering RNAs (endo siRNAs), as well as other endogenous small RNAs, have been firmly established during the past decade as key regulators of the genome function in diverse eukaryotic organisms, including all land plants. Both miRNA and siRNAs can cause potent silencing of gene expression via targeting the complementary messenger RNAs (mRNAs) for degradation or translational repression. Not surprisingly, they are being rapidly developed into powerful tools of gene manipulation, not only in the context of basic research but also for myriad of applied purposes. Moreover, siRNAs can also trigger gene silencing at the level of transcription, by guiding the nuclear repressive complexes that cause either histone modifications or DNA methylation, or both. Yet, the biology of small RNAs in monocot plants remains poorly studied. Progress in understanding the basic biology and mechanisms of gene regulation in monocot grasses, including cereal species cultivated for food and feed, as well as dedicated biofuel crops such as switchgrass has been severely constrained for many years due to the lack of convenient experimental systems. Brachypodium distachyon has recently emerged as a premier model for functional genomics studies in temperate grasses, a phylogenetic group that includes such agriculturally important species of cereal crops as corn, wheat, rice, barley and pearl millet, because of its simple growth requirements, rapid life cycle, small size, easy transformability by T-DNA and small, compact genome. The key goal of this project is to make a contribution towards filling this gap in our knowledge of the basic biology of temperate grasses by creating a comprehensive catalog of small regulatory RNAs in Brachypodium distachyon.
Associated Publications:
Wang H-LV, Dinwiddie BL, Lee H, Chekanova JA. Stress-induced endogenous siRNAs targeting regulatory intron sequences in Brachypodium. RNA. Cold Spring Harbor Lab; 2015;21: 145–163. doi:10.1261/rna.047662.114. [Pubmed] [PDF]