The lack of available transcriptome data for plants of no economic or agronomic importance limits the identification of miRNAs in many species. Considering the possible similarity of the transcriptome between related species, the present study used expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of Suaeda salsa and Suaeda glauca to identify conserved miRNAs, which were validated in a halophyte, Suaeda maritima, with the aim of identifying salt-responsive miRNAs from naturally salt-tolerant plants, information on which is limited.
The plant-specific AWPM-19-domain proteins play important roles in plant development and stress responses. In the current study, OsPM19L1 encoding Oryza sativa AWPM-19-like protein 1 was isolated from rice. Tissue-specific gene expression analysis revealed that OsPM19L1 was highly expressed in the leaf sheath of rice. Interestingly, expression of OsPM19L1 was high at the early stage of panicle development and decreased thereafter.
Sorghum grain yield can be significantly affected by climatic changes, especially drought and high temperature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate hybrids of grain sorghum grown under normal irrigation conditions or water stress in order to select those likely to be more tolerant of drought. Forty-nine hybrids were grown in a randomized block design experiment, with three replications. The plots consisted of four rows of 5 m length. Grain yield, weight of 1000 grains, harvest index, days to flowering, and plant height were measured.
The basic-region/leucine-zipper (bZIP) family is one of the major transcription factor (TF) families associated with responses to abiotic stresses. Many members of group A in this family have been extensively examined and are reported to perform significant functions in ABA signaling as well as in responses to abiotic stresses. In this study, 10 bZIP factors in carrot were classified into group A based on their DNA-binding domains. The cis-acting regulatory elements and folding states of these 10 factors were analyzed.