Microarray-based identification of conserved microRNA from wheat and their expression profiles response to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and play a critical role in many important biological processes of plants. Wheat stripe rust is one of the most destructive fungal diseases of wheat worldwide, yet the roles of wheat miRNAs in response to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) are largely unknown. Here, we report a simple array platform that could detect 188 plant miRNAs in 95 miRNAs families from eight plant species. We identified two new members of conserved miRNAs families and five known miRNAs using the platform and RNA gel blot analysis. The transcript accumulation of seven miRNAs was detected in wheat leaves ‘Suwon 11’ inoculated with Pst using stem-loop real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). By analysing their predicted target genes, we discuss and propose the basal roles for miRNAs in the interaction between wheat and Pst, with most of the target genes being stress-related.