Pourya Ahmadi Rekabdarkolaei - National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Forough Sanjarian - National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

Thyme, Thymus vulgaris, is one of the most important plants from the Lamiaceae family which has medicinal and antimicrobial effects. thymol and carvacrol, two phenolic compounds with antioxidant property, are the main compounds of thyme extract . Drought stress is one of the most common abiotic stresses that limits the main function of the plant and is a challenge for agricultural scientists to produce plants with high productivity. miRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs with a length of ۲۱ to ۲۴ nucleotides that are involved in almost all plant biological processes during biotic and abiotic stresses. The evolutionary superiority of miRNAs for silencing transcription factors has made these small molecules the main key in plant growth and adaptive responses. In this study, thyme plants were exposed to concentrations of ۰%, ۱۰%, ۲۵% and ۵۰% of PEG ۸۰۰۰ during ۲ and ۵ hours.Then the changes in miRNA ۳۹۷a expression in response to drought stress were investigated. After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, the expression pattern of miRNA ۳۹۷a was examined by Real Time PCR. The highest level of expression was observed at the level of ۲۵% of drought in ۲ hours and The lowest was observed at the level of ۵۰% drought in ۵ hours. Efficient and reliable detection of miRNAs is an essential step in understanding the role of miRNAs in specific response of plant cells to stress.

Thyme, gene expression, abiotic stress, miRNA