Small RNA-Seq to Unveil the miRNA Expression Patterns and Identify the Target Genes in Panax ginseng

Abstract

Panax ginseng, renowned for its medicinal properties, relies on adventitious roots and hairy roots as crucial sources for the production of ginsenosides. Despite the widespread utilization of ginseng, investigations into its miRNAs have remained scarce. To address this gap, two samples of ginseng adventitious roots and ginseng hairy roots were collected, and subsequent construction and sequencing of small RNA libraries of ginseng adventitious roots and hairy roots were performed using the Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform. The analysis of the sequencing data unveiled total miRNAs 2432. The miR166 and miR396 were the most highly expressed miRNA families in ginseng. The miRNA expression analysis results were used to validate the qRT-PCR. Target genes of miRNA were predicted and GO function annotation and KEGG pathway analysis were performed on target genes. It was found that miRNAs are mainly involved in synthetic pathways and biological processes in plants, which include metabolic and bioregulatory processes. The plant miRNAs enriched KEGG pathways are associated with some metabolism, especially amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism. These results provide valuable insights miRNAs and their roles in metabolic processes in ginseng.

Transcriptome-Wide Identification and Integrated Analysis of a UGT Gene Involved in Ginsenoside Ro Biosynthesis in Panax ginseng

“…Data of the ginsenosides’ content of these samples were used for subsequent studies. The ginseng adventitious roots used in this work were derived from callus induction in a previous laboratory [ 22 ] and cultured in a B5 medium for expansion.…”