biologia plantarum

International journal on Plant Life established by Bohumil Nìmec in 1959

Biologia plantarum 64:193-199, 2020 | DOI: 10.32615/bp.2020.037

Characterization and functional analysis of microRNA399 in Cunninghamia lanceolata

F.R. ZHU1, Z.B. QIU2,*, Y.M. ZHANG2, X. R. ZHANG2, W. L.WANG2
1 School of Life Science and Technology, Xinxiang University, Xinxiang 453003, P.R. China
2 College of Life Science, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, P.R. China

The miR399 is a conserved microRNA (miRNA) family, and it has been characterized as an essential regulator of phosphorus transport in plants. However, the biological function of miR399 in Cunninghamia lanceolata is still largely unclear. In this study, the comparison of mature miR399 sequence revealed a high similarity between Arabidopsis thaliana and C. lanceolate, and the pre-miR399 was capable of forming a typical stem-loop hairpin structure. A gene PHOSPHATE 2 (PHO2) was identified as a target of cln-miR399 using 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends. Furthermore, the relationship between cln-miR399 and PHO2 was further confirmed through a transient co-expression of both genes in Nicotiana benthamiana. To examine the function of miR399 in Arabidopsis, miR399-overexpressing transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana was acquired using Agrobacterium-mediated approach. Real-time PCR showed that the amount of cln-MIR399 transcripts was higher in miR399-overexpressing plants than in wild-type plants, which was accompanied with down-regulation of expression of its target gene AtPHO2. The P content was 1.40 to 1.56-fold higher in the leaves of three transgenic lines than in wild type plants. However, the P content in the roots of the three transgenic lines was 24.5 - 37.2 % less than that in wild type plants. Moreover, the transcriptions of three phosphate transporter genes (PHT1, PHT2, and PHT3) were up-regulated in roots of miR399-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants. Interestingly, the transgenic lines exhibited retarded growth under normal P conditions compared with the wild type. Our findings demonstrate that cln-miR399 may play crucial roles in P transport and plant growth via regulation of its target gene PHO2.

Keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana, PHO2, phosphate transporters, RLM-RACE.

Revised: October 18, 2019; Published online: March 6, 2020  Show citation

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ZHU, F.R., QIU, Z.B., ZHANG, Y.M., ZHANG, X.R., & WANG, W.L. (2020). Characterization and functional analysis of microRNA399 in Cunninghamia lanceolata. Biologia plantarum, 64, Article 193-199. https://doi.org/10.32615/bp.2020.037
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