Expression analysis of miRNAs and their targets related to salt stress in Solanum lycopersicum H-2274

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The microRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small non-coding RNAs found in both plants and animals. Their functions and target genes have been identified in many plant species. It has been shown that miRNAs have crucial roles in stress responses of plants as much as other defence mechanisms. Throughout abiotic stress, miRNAs regulate their target genes and take part in signalling pathways. In this study, we evaluated the expression profiles of miR156, miR170, miR171, miR395, miR398 and miR845, which have been shown to be related with stress, and their target genes in different tissues of Solanum lycopersicum H-2274 plants under salt stress. We applied 100 mmol/L NaCl to tomato plants for one week and performed quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis. The results that stood out belonged to miR156 both in root and stem tissues and miR398 in stem tissues. Interestingly the expression profiles of these miRNAs and their target genes were similar. These findings show that there is a complex stress response mechanism still waiting to be deciphered. Our findings could provide valuable information to understand the function of miRNAs in stress response mechanisms of plants.