Identification and Analysis of Small Interfering RNAs Associated With Heat Stress in Flowering Chinese Cabbage Using High-Throughput Sequencing

Endogenous small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are substantial gene regulators in eukaryotes and play key functions in plant development and stress tolerance. Among environmental factors, heat is serious abiotic stress that severely influences the productivity and quality of flowering Chinese cabbage (<i>Brassica campestris</i> L. ssp. <i>chinensis</i> var. <i>utilis</i> Tsen et Lee). However, how siRNAs are involved in regulating gene expression during heat stress is not fully understood in flowering Chinese cabbage. Combining bioinformatical and next-generation sequencing approaches, we identified heat-responsive siRNAs in four small RNA libraries of flowering Chinese cabbage using leaves collected at 0, 1, 6, and 12 h after a 38°C heat-stress treatment; 536, 816, and 829 siRNAs exhibited substantial differential expression at 1, 6, and 12 h, respectively. Seventy-five upregulated and 69 downregulated differentially expressed siRNAs (DE-siRNAs) were common for the three time points of heat stress. We identified 795 target genes of DE-siRNAs, including <i>serine/threonine-protein kinase SRK2I</i>, <i>CTR1-like</i>, <i>disease resistance protein RML1A-like</i>, and <i>RPP</i>1, which may play a role in regulating heat tolerance. Gene ontology showed that predictive targets of DE-siRNAs may have key roles in the positive regulation of biological processes, organismal processes, responses to temperature stimulus, signaling, and growth and development. These novel results contribute to further understanding how siRNAs modulate the expression of their target genes to control heat tolerance in flowering Chinese cabbage.