Cataloguing the small RNA content of honey using next generation sequencing

Abstract

Honey adulteration is a problem that effects the global honey industry and specifically, has been discovered in the Australian market. Common methods of adulteration include dilution with sugar syrup substitutes and the mislabelling of the floral and geographic origin(s) of honey. Current authentication tools rely on the molecular variability between different honeys, identifying unique chemical profiles and/or DNA signatures characteristic of a particular honey. Honey is known to contain plant miRNAs derived from its floral source. To explore the composition and variability of honey RNA molecules, this is the first study to catalogue the small RNA content of Australian polyfloral table honey and New Zealand Leptospermum scoparium honey using next generation sequencing. The data shows that in addition to miRNAs, honey contains a variety of small non-coding RNAs including tRNA-derived fragments. Moreover, the honey small RNAs are derived from a range of phylogenetic sources, including from plant, invertebrate, and prokaryotic species. The data indicates that different honeys contain unique small RNA profiles, which suggests a novel avenue in developing molecular-based honey authentication tools.