Study of evolutionary relationship between bread wheat and Aegilops tauschii by analysis of common miRNAs and their target genes

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the most important crops in the world which has strategic importance in providing human food. Bread wheat is an allohexaploid (AABBDD) produced during two hybridizations with its wild ancestors that Aegilops tauschii is considered to be the donor of wheat D genome. In this study, the evolutionary relationship between bread wheat and Ae. tauschii has been discussed using the study of their common miRNAs and target genes. An examination of bread wheat chromosomes and Ae. tauschii shows that the corresponding chromosomes are largely the same in terms of length and number of genes. In this study, five miRNAs transcript from D genome of wheat and common with Ae. tauschii and three new miRNAs identified by bioinformatics approach of RNA Seq were analyzed. Alignment analysis of the desired miRNA sequences in monocotyledon showed that these miRNAs are most similar in wheat and Ae. tauschii and it seems that during the evolution, these genes have been conserved from Ae. tauschii to wheat. The study of the target genes of common miRNAs between wheat and Aegilops tauschii showed that they were very similar in terms of gene anthology as well as the proteins produced from them. Therefore, it seems that these miRNAs have a similar role and functions in these related plants. The findings of this study can be used to better understand the mechanism and function of miRNAs of wheat and Ae. tauschii and their use in wheat breeding projects through their wild relatives.