MicroRNA Profiling Revealed the Mechanism of Enhanced Cold Resistance by Grafting in Melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.)
Grafting is widely used to improve the resistance to abiotic stresses in cucurbit plants, but the effect and molecular mechanism of grafting on cold stress are still unknown in melon. In this study, phenotypic characteristics, physiological indexes, small-RNA sequencing and expression analyses were...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/7/1016 |
| _version_ | 1797212071932198912 |
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| author | Xinmei Lang Xuan Zhao Jiateng Zhao Tiantian Ren Lanchun Nie Wensheng Zhao |
| author_facet | Xinmei Lang Xuan Zhao Jiateng Zhao Tiantian Ren Lanchun Nie Wensheng Zhao |
| author_sort | Xinmei Lang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Grafting is widely used to improve the resistance to abiotic stresses in cucurbit plants, but the effect and molecular mechanism of grafting on cold stress are still unknown in melon. In this study, phenotypic characteristics, physiological indexes, small-RNA sequencing and expression analyses were performed on grafted plants with pumpkin rootstock (PG) and self-grafted plants (SG) to explore the mechanism of changed cold tolerance by grafting in melon. Compared with SG plants, the cold tolerance was obviously enhanced, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly decreased and the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; peroxidase, POD) were significantly increased in PG plants. Depend on differentially expressed miRNA (DEM) identification and expression pattern analyses, <i>cme-miR156b</i>, <i>cme-miR156f</i> and <i>chr07_30026</i> were thought to play a key role in enhancing low-temperature resistance resulting from grafting. Subsequently, 24, 37 and 17 target genes of <i>cme-miR156b</i>, <i>cme-miR156f</i> and <i>chr07_30026</i> were respectively predicted, and 21 target genes were co-regulated by <i>cme-miR156b</i> and <i>cme-miR156f</i>. Among these 57 unique target genes, the putative promoter of 13 target genes contained the low-temperature responsive (LTR) <i>cis</i>-acting element. The results of qRT-PCR indicated that six target genes (<i>MELO3C002370</i>, <i>MELO3C009217</i>, <i>MELO3C018972</i>, <i>MELO3C016713</i>, <i>MELO3C012858</i> and <i>MELO3C000732</i>) displayed the opposite expression pattern to their corresponding miRNAs. Furthermore, <i>MELO3C002370</i>, <i>MELO3C016713</i> and <i>MELO3C012858</i> were significantly downregulated in cold-resistant cultivars and upregulated in cold-sensitive varieties after cold stimulus, and they acted as the key negative regulators of low-temperature response in melon. This study revealed three key miRNAs and three putative target genes involved in the cold tolerance of melon and provided a molecular basis underlying how grafting improved the low-temperature resistance of melon plants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:36:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-394198814feb4f479f3e72e44fa17b92 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:36:34Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-394198814feb4f479f3e72e44fa17b922024-04-12T13:24:52ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472024-04-01137101610.3390/plants13071016MicroRNA Profiling Revealed the Mechanism of Enhanced Cold Resistance by Grafting in Melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.)Xinmei Lang0Xuan Zhao1Jiateng Zhao2Tiantian Ren3Lanchun Nie4Wensheng Zhao5College of Horticulture, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaGrafting is widely used to improve the resistance to abiotic stresses in cucurbit plants, but the effect and molecular mechanism of grafting on cold stress are still unknown in melon. In this study, phenotypic characteristics, physiological indexes, small-RNA sequencing and expression analyses were performed on grafted plants with pumpkin rootstock (PG) and self-grafted plants (SG) to explore the mechanism of changed cold tolerance by grafting in melon. Compared with SG plants, the cold tolerance was obviously enhanced, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly decreased and the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; peroxidase, POD) were significantly increased in PG plants. Depend on differentially expressed miRNA (DEM) identification and expression pattern analyses, <i>cme-miR156b</i>, <i>cme-miR156f</i> and <i>chr07_30026</i> were thought to play a key role in enhancing low-temperature resistance resulting from grafting. Subsequently, 24, 37 and 17 target genes of <i>cme-miR156b</i>, <i>cme-miR156f</i> and <i>chr07_30026</i> were respectively predicted, and 21 target genes were co-regulated by <i>cme-miR156b</i> and <i>cme-miR156f</i>. Among these 57 unique target genes, the putative promoter of 13 target genes contained the low-temperature responsive (LTR) <i>cis</i>-acting element. The results of qRT-PCR indicated that six target genes (<i>MELO3C002370</i>, <i>MELO3C009217</i>, <i>MELO3C018972</i>, <i>MELO3C016713</i>, <i>MELO3C012858</i> and <i>MELO3C000732</i>) displayed the opposite expression pattern to their corresponding miRNAs. Furthermore, <i>MELO3C002370</i>, <i>MELO3C016713</i> and <i>MELO3C012858</i> were significantly downregulated in cold-resistant cultivars and upregulated in cold-sensitive varieties after cold stimulus, and they acted as the key negative regulators of low-temperature response in melon. This study revealed three key miRNAs and three putative target genes involved in the cold tolerance of melon and provided a molecular basis underlying how grafting improved the low-temperature resistance of melon plants.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/7/1016melonlow temperaturegraftingmiRNAstarget genes |
| spellingShingle | Xinmei Lang Xuan Zhao Jiateng Zhao Tiantian Ren Lanchun Nie Wensheng Zhao MicroRNA Profiling Revealed the Mechanism of Enhanced Cold Resistance by Grafting in Melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.) Plants melon low temperature grafting miRNAs target genes |
| title | MicroRNA Profiling Revealed the Mechanism of Enhanced Cold Resistance by Grafting in Melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.) |
| title_full | MicroRNA Profiling Revealed the Mechanism of Enhanced Cold Resistance by Grafting in Melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.) |
| title_fullStr | MicroRNA Profiling Revealed the Mechanism of Enhanced Cold Resistance by Grafting in Melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.) |
| title_full_unstemmed | MicroRNA Profiling Revealed the Mechanism of Enhanced Cold Resistance by Grafting in Melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.) |
| title_short | MicroRNA Profiling Revealed the Mechanism of Enhanced Cold Resistance by Grafting in Melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> L.) |
| title_sort | microrna profiling revealed the mechanism of enhanced cold resistance by grafting in melon i cucumis melo i l |
| topic | melon low temperature grafting miRNAs target genes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/7/1016 |
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