In Silico identification of osa-miR164 role in response to abiotic stress in rice

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small (22 nucleotide) non-coding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. Previous research has shown that miRNA plays an essential role in plant tolerance to adverse environmental conditions. In our study, we focused on the miR164 family in rice (Oryza sativa), an important food crop. We used a bioinformatics approach to analyze the sequences of all osa-miR164 of the miR164 family of rice, evaluate the expression profile of osa-miR164 under different stress conditions, predict cis-regulatory elements at the promoters of osa-miR164 genes, and simultaneously predict the miR164-targeted genes and their expressions. The results showed that the mature osa-miR164 sequences are highly conserved, but the precursor sequences are highly variable. The variation in the precursor sequences of osa-miR164 genes resulted in different expressions under stress conditions. In addition, different cis-regulatory elements in the promoter sequences of osa-miR164 genes could explain the different expression patterns of osa-miR164 genes. Some possible osa-miR164 target genes were discovered and their expression were studied under different stress conditions. Overall, the results of this study provided a valuable resource for further identification and evaluation of the interaction between osa-miR164 family target genes in response to abiotic stress.