English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression in many biological processes, but the significance of the interaction between a miRNA and its targets in perennial trees remains largely unknown. Here, we employed transcript profiling and association studies in  Populus tomentosa  ( Pto ) to decipher the effect of genetic variation and interactions between  Pto-miR156c  and its potential targets ( Pto-SPL15, Pto-SPL20 , and  Pto-SPL25 ) in 435 unrelated individuals from a natural population of  P. tomentosa . Single-SNP (single-nucleotide polymorphism) based association studies with analysis of the underlying additive and dominant effects identified 69 significant associations ( P  < 0.01), representing 51 common SNPs (minor allele frequency > 0.05) from  Pto-MIR156c  and its three potential targets, with six wood and growth traits, revealing their common roles in wood formation. Epistasis analysis uncovered 129 significant SNP-SNP associations with ten traits, indicating the potential genetic interactions of  Pto-MIR156c  and its three putative targets. Interestingly, expression analysis in stem (phloem, cambium, and xylem) revealed that  Pto-miR156c  expression showed strong negative correlations with  Pto-SPL20  ( r  = −0.90,  P  < 0.01) and  Pto-SPL25  ( r  = −0.65,  P  < 0.01), and a positive correlation with  Pto-SPL15  ( r  = 0.40,  P  < 0.01), which also indicated the putative interactions of  Pto-miR156c  and its potential targets and their common roles in wood formation. Thus, our study provided an alternative approach to decipher the interaction between miRNAs and their targets and to dissect the genetic architecture of complex traits in trees.

Association Studies in Populus tomentosa Reveal the Genetic Interactions of Pto-MIR156c and Its Targets in Wood Formation