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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Early Access

Elucidating role of long non-coding RNAs of Tamarindus indica Linn. in post-transcriptional gene regulation

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.3057
Submitted
30 October 2023
Published
18-01-2025
Versions

Abstract

Tamarindus indica Linn., commonly known as tamarind, is a rich source of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds. It is well established that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) plays an important role in transcriptional, post-transcriptional and epigenetic regulation. Despite the availability of tamarind genome information, a handful of studies have been done on its non-coding genome, especially lncRNAs. In this study, we have computationally predicted lncRNAs from the coding DNA sequences of T. indica and analysed the sequences. We experimentally validated seven randomly chosen lncRNAs by performing quantitative Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). 320 lncRNAs have been predicted and sequence analysis of these predicted, lncRNAs reveals the presence of different motifs and tandem repeats. Along with the experimental validation of 7 randomly chosen lncRNAs, functional analysis of the predicted lncRNAs and their targets elucidated their roles in various biological pathways. We believe prediction and validation of the lncRNAs along with their interaction with mRNAs will enhance our knowledge about the non-coding genome of tamarind and their involvement in post transcriptional gene regulation, medicinal properties, metabolic engineering, stress tolerance and genome editing.

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