The expression profile of 10 target genes belonging to 6 miRNAs in three mulberry tissues (leaf, bark, and male flower) using RT-PCR.

<p>Morus015493 and Morus018032 are the predicted target genes of miR156, so as Morus012124, Morus012122, and Morus012121 for miRn51, Morus008520 for miRn247, Morus019289 for miRn67, Morus011908 for miRn62, Morus002508 and Morus014466 for miRn157. The X axis represents different tissues. L indicates leaf tissue. B indicates bark tissue. MF indicates male flower tissue. The Y axis represents the relative expression level of target genes. MorusXXXXXX represented the target gene ID.</p

Identification of the Conserved and Novel miRNAs in Mulberry by High-Throughput Sequencing

<div><p>miRNAs are a class of non-coding endogenous small RNAs. They play vital roles in plant growth, development, and response to biotic and abiotic stress by negatively regulating genes. Mulberry trees are economically important species with multiple uses. However, to date, little is known about mulberry miRNAs and their target genes. In the present study, three small mulberry RNA libraries were constructed and sequenced using high-throughput sequencing technology. Results showed 85 conserved miRNAs belonging to 31 miRNA families and 262 novel miRNAs at 371 loci. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis confirmed the expression pattern of 9 conserved and 5 novel miRNAs in leaves, bark, and male flowers. A total of 332 potential target genes were predicted to be associated with these 113 novel miRNAs. These results provide a basis for further understanding of mulberry miRNAs and the biological processes in which they are involved.</p></div

Reads per million of conserved miRNAs in mulberry leaves, bark, and male flowers.

<p>A) miRNAs with >1000 reads; B) miRNAs with 30–1000 reads; C) miRNAs with <30 reads. The X axis represents different conserved miRNAs. The Y axis represents the reads per million for different miRNAs. RPM means reads per million.</p

Relative expression of 14 miRNAs in three mulberry tissues (leaf, bark, and male flower) using stem-loop RT-PCR.

<p>The X axis represents different tissues. L indicates leaf tissue. B indicates bark tissue. MF indicates male flower tissue. The Y axis represents the relative expression level of miRNAs.</p

Classification of small RNAs in the mulberry leaves, bark, and male flowers.

<p>Classification of small RNAs in the mulberry leaves, bark, and male flowers.</p