GAEBic:A Novel Biclustering Analysis Method for miRNA-Targeted Gene Data Based on Graph Autoencoder

Unlike traditional clustering analysis,the biclustering algorithm works simultaneously on two dimensions of samples(row)and variables(column).In recent years,biclustering methods have been developed rapidly and widely applied in biological data analysis,text clustering,recommendation system and other fields.The traditional clustering algorithms cannot be well adapted to process high-dimensional data and/or large-scale data.At present,most of the biclustering algorithms are designed for the differentially expressed big biological data.However,there is little discussion on binary data clustering mining such as miRNA-targeted gene data.Here,we propose a novel biclustering method for miRNA-targeted gene data based on graph autoencoder named as GAEBic.GAEBic applies graph autoencoder to capture the similarity of sample sets or variable sets,and takes a new irregular clustering strategy to mine biclusters with excellent generalization.Based on the miRNA-targeted gene data of soybean,we benchmark several different types of the biclustering algorithm,and find that GAEBic performs better than Bimax,Bibit and the Spectral Biclustering algorithm in terms of target gene enrichment.This biclustering method achieves comparable performance on the high throughput miRNA data of soybean and it can also be used for other species.

Expression changes of mi RNA-regulated genes associated with the formation of the leafy head in cabbage

The vegetative development of cabbage(Brassica oleracea var.capitata)passes through seedling,rosette,folding and heading stages.Leaves that form the rosette are large and mostly flat.In the following developmental stages,the plants produce leaves that curve inward to produce the leafy head.Many microRNAs and their target genes have been described participating in leaf development and leaf curvature.The aim of this study is to investigate the role of miRNA-regulated genes in the transition from the rosette to the heading stage.We compared the mi RNA and gene abundances between emerging rosette and heading leaves.To remove transcripts(miRNAs and genes)whose regulation was most likely associated with plant age rather than the change from rosette to heading stage,we utilized a non-heading collard green(B.oleracea var.acephala)morphotype as control.This resulted in 33 DEMs and 1998 DEGs with likely roles in the transition from rosette to heading stage in cabbage.Among these 1998 DEGs,we found enriched GO terms related to DNA-binding transcription factor activity,transcription regulator activity,iron ion binding,and photosynthesis.We predicted the target genes of these 33 DEMs and focused on the subset that was differentially expressed(1998DEGs)between rosette and heading stage leaves to construct mi RNA-target gene interaction networks.Our main finding is a role for miR396b-5p targeting two Arabidopsis thaliana orthologues of GROWTH REGULATING FACTORs 3(GRF3)and 4(GRF4)in pointed cabbage head formation.

A novel Arabidopsis miRNA, ath-miR38-3P, is involved in response to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infection

Plant defense responses against penetration or colonization of pathogens are mediated by activation and repression of a large array of genes. Host endogenous small RNAs are essential in gene expression reprogramming process. We identified a new Arabidopsis micro RNA（mi RNA） ath-mi R38-3P by high-throughput sequencing and further confirmed it by Northern blot assay. Interestingly, ath-miR38-3P was highly induced after infection of the pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Further analysis based on the mi RNA target database demonstrated that ath-mi R38-3P might target to five putative genes： AT2G03140, AT5G59430, AT5G66320, AT1G36620 and AT3G03820. To confirm the target, we conducted the quantitative real-time PCR to observe the expression pattern of each candidate gene. The results showed that only AT3G03820 was down-regulated after inoculation of S. sclerotiorum. In addition, overexpression of ath-miR38-3P down-regulates AT3G03820, suggesting AT3G03820 might represent the target for ath-mi R38-3P. Our results may provide the useful information for further studying the biological function of a novel ath-mi R38-3P and its targets in Arabidopsis-Sclerotinia interaction.