MicroSugar

MicroSugar provides a comprehensive miRNA target prediction database for sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.), integrating annotated mRNA and miRNA datasets to support investigation of post-transcriptional gene regulation during internode elongation.

Key Features:

• Extensive gene and miRNA annotation: Contains 194,528 genes including 80,746 unigenes derived from PacBio long-read sequencing and catalogs 468 miRNAs identified across 72 samples.
• Target prediction and analysis: Uses the miRanda algorithm to identify 3,019 mRNAs as targets of 327 miRNAs based on 14,300 3' untranslated region (UTR) sequences and assesses expression relationships with Spearman's Rho.
• Functional insight via gene ontology: Performs gene ontology enrichment analysis that highlights over-represented GO terms linked to organism formation and growth-related processes regulated by miRNAs.

Scientific Applications:

• miRNA-mediated gene regulation studies: Enables identification and characterization of miRNA–mRNA interactions and their expression correlations in sugarcane.
• Developmental biology of internode elongation: Supports analysis of post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms during critical growth phases in sugarcane.
• Comparative and applied research: Provides data and functional annotations useful for cross-species comparisons and crop improvement research in plant biotechnology.

Methodology:

Target prediction using the miRanda algorithm on 14,300 3' UTR sequences, expression correlation assessed by Spearman's Rho, and gene ontology enrichment analysis.