Small RNAs in angiosperms: sequence characteristics, distribution and generation.

Chen, Dijun; Meng, Yijun; Ma, Xiaoxia; Mao, Chuanzao; Bai, Youhuang; Cao, Junjie; Gu, Haibin; Wu, Ping et al. · Bioinformatics · 2010

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) has opened up a new era for small RNA (sRNA) exploration. Using HTS data for a global survey of sRNAs in 26 angiosperms, elevated GC contents were detected in the monocots, whereas the 5(')-terminal compositions were quite uniform among the angiosperms. Chromosome-wide distribution patterns of sRNAs were investigated by using scrolling-window analysis. We performed de novo natural antisense transcript (NAT) prediction, and found that the overlapping regions of trans-NATs, but not cis-NATs, were hotspots for sRNA generation. One cis-NAT generates phased natural antisense short interfering RNAs (nat-siRNAs) specifically from flowers in Arabidopsis, while one in rice produces phased nat-siRNAs from grains, suggesting their organ-specific regulatory roles.

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