Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key post-transcriptional regulators involved in plant development and stress responses. Although extensively studied in model species, their functional roles remain largely unexplored in non-model fruits, such as mango (Mangifera indica L.). In this study, we present, to our knowledge, the first genome-wide analysis of miRNAs in mango mesocarp under postharvest heat stress induced by hot water treatment (HWT), a widely used quarantine method. Using small RNA sequencing (sRNA-seq), we identified 90 miRNAs distributed across 27 families. Phylogenetic analysis revealed evolutionary trajectories shaped by whole-genome duplication. Most miRNAs were predicted to target transcription factors and regulators involved in growth and hormone signaling. Differential expression profiling across multiple time points post-HWT identified miR168, miR319, and miR482 as early heat-responsive miRNAs. Stem-loop and RT-qPCR validation revealed regulatory modules, including the miR168/AGO1 feedback loop and the miR319/TCP4-GAMYB axis, involved in ROS homeostasis and thermotolerance. In addition, a transient heterologous expression assay in Nicotiana benthamiana demonstrated the functional repression of MiTCP4 by miR319. Additionally, a putative interaction between miR482 and a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) was uncovered, suggesting a potential coordination of phasiRNA generation during heat stress. These findings provide new insights into miRNA-mediated regulation in mango, highlighting both coding and non-coding networks, and lay the groundwork for future functional studies and the development of miRNA-based tools to improve thermotolerance and fruit quality.
Data availability
The datasets generated and analyzed during this study are available from accession PRJNA1310765 (Bioproject).
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación (SECIHTI) through a postdoctoral fellowship to M.D-C. (CAB 2342682), master’s fellowships to L.U-A. and K.U-LL., and a fellowship to M.A-S. Thanks to SECIHTI for project CBF2023-2024-2935, awarded to M.D-C. We thank Mariana Rubio-Goycochea for her technical support. This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The contributions of the NIH author(s) are considered Works of the United States Government. The findings and conclusions presented in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NIH or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Funding
This work was funded by the project CBF2023-2024-2935 and by the postdoctoral fellowship (CAB 2342682) awarded by the Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación (SECIHTI) to M.D-C. This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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M.D-C., L.U-A., and M.A.I-O. conceived and designed the experiments. M.D-C., L.U-A., J.A.E-D., M.A-S., and L.K.U-LL. performed the experiments. M.D-C., A.C-M., L.U-A., T.D-S., and M.A.I-O. analyzed the data. M.D-C., A.C-M., S.C-F., and M.A.I-O. wrote and edited the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the paper.
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Dautt-Castro, M., Cruz-Mendívil, A., Ulloa-Álvarez, L. et al. Genome-wide analysis of conserved and novel miRNAs in mango mesocarp reveals early regulatory networks involved in postharvest heat stress response. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40278-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40278-z
