Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals New lncRNAs Responding to Salt Stress in Sweet Sorghum

Abstract

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can enhance plant stress resistance by regulating the expression of functional genes. Sweet sorghum is a salt-tolerant energy crop. However, little is known about how lncRNAs in sweet sorghum respond to salt stress. In this study, we identified 126 and 133 differentially expressed lncRNAs in the salt-tolerant M-81E and the salt-sensitive Roma strains, respectively. Salt stress induced three new lncRNAs in M-81E and inhibited two new lncRNAs in Roma. These lncRNAs included lncRNA13472, lncRNA11310, lncRNA2846, lncRNA26929, and lncRNA14798, which potentially function as competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) that influence plant responses to salt stress by regulating the expression of target genes related to ion transport, protein modification, transcriptional regulation, and material synthesis and transport. Additionally, M-81E had a more complex ceRNA network than Roma. This study provides new information regarding lncRNAs and the complex regulatory network underlying salt-stress responses in sweet sorghum.