Graduate Student North Carolina State University Durham, North Carolina
Body of Abstract: Plants respond to changing environments by modifying their gene expression. When a plant perceives changes in its root microbiome, there can be a whole-plant transcriptomic response involving coding (mRNA) and noncoding RNAs. Noncoding RNAs add an additional layer of gene regulation. Their mechanistic role in how and when the plant responds to the root microbiome is not well understood. Non-coding circular RNAs (circRNAs) are single stranded, covalently closed RNA molecules that have diverse functions at the transcriptional and translational levels, including sequestration of miRNA and RNA binding proteins. Despite a growing abundance of circRNA discovery, it is challenging to identify real circRNAs. These challenges can be attributed to 1) low abundance and 2) having only a small region of sequence around the Back Splice Junction (BSJ), which differentiates circRNA from their corresponding linear RNAs. Like mRNA, circRNA expression is responsive to changes in environmental conditions. We hypothesize that specific circRNAs play a role in the plant’s response to its microbiome. We have identified 9,105 circRNAs in Lotus japonicus roots in the presence of select commensal bacteria. We identified bacterium and community specific circRNAs and have performed short and long read sequencing to confirm 17 circRNAs found within nutrient metabolism pathways.