Uncovering roles of microRNAs in regulation of curcumin biosynthesis in turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)

Abstract

Curcuma longa L. is an important spice with various therapeutically active secondary metabolites in its edible rhizomes and curcumin is the most important among them. Secondaty metabolite synthesis in plants is reported to be a highly regulated and microRNAs are a class of small endogenous non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) that could play a major role in gene regulation.miRNA mediated regulation of biosynthesis of curcumin is an unexplored area. We have identified, through transcriptome analysis, about 29 miRNAs that showed differential expression with respect to curcumin in turmeric accessions with contrasting curcumin content. Expression of one of the conserved miRNAs viz., miR319 showed a negative correlation to curcumin when plants were grown under different light regimes favouring differential curclimin accumulation in rhizomes. This miRNA is a potential candidate for further studies on regulation of biosynthesis of curcumin.