Identification of Arundo donax L. microRNAs and their targets using high-throughput sequencing and degradome analysis

Arundo donax L., commonly called giant reed, is a perennial rhizomatous invasive grass belonging to the Poaceae family. It is often cultivated as energy crop for second generation biofuels production, and is able to cope with different biotic and abiotic stresses, colonizing degraded and marginal areas. We carried out for the first time a high-throughput sequencing approach to detect known and novel miRNAs of A. donax. The targets of miRNAs were also investigated by the parallel analysis of RNA ends (degradome analysis), shedding light on miRNAs' putative functions, and especially aiming to clarify determinants of resilience of A. donax to biotic and abiotic stress.