5^th Annual European Pharma Congress

Biography

Biography: Maria Sala-Cîrtog

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small, noncoding endogenous RNA (21-25 nucleotides long) with an important role in gene expression regulation by targeting specific mRNAs in plants, animals and humans. To date, no miRNAs from marigold (Calendula officinalis), one of the best known medicinal plants, have been identified. This may be due to the lack of genome data regarding Calendula off. because the majority of available miRNA identification tools require a reference such as EST database or genomic sequence to discover novel miRNAs. Materials and Methods: - Certified plant material (Calendulae flos) and standard growth conditions - Plant small RNA isolation and extraction - Sequencing data analysis and plant miRNA identification Results: The cDNA libraries of two tissues from Calendula (petals and inflorescence) were prepared and small RNA-seq were conducted according to Illumina's protocols. To identify potential miRNAs, previously known miRNAs from Arabidopsis thaliana, Ricinus Communis, Linum Usitatissimum and Physcomitrella patens were downloaded from MirBase. The reference set miRNAs were compared against Calendula small RNA sequences using homology approaches. A total of 3 miRNAs, with 0 mismatches, (mir166a, lus-mir166e, ppt-mir894 and ath-mir8175), were identified based on their sequence complementarities. Conclusion: The potentially conserved miRNAs from Calendula were identified only in the inflorescence, which is the part used for medicinal purposes. This could lead to a better understanding of the relationship between plant exogenous genetic material and the changes in mammal upon oral ingestion. Acknowledgement: We would like to thank for financial support received from the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research (Grant PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4 No 165/2014)