MicroRNA-like small RNAs prediction in the development of Antrodia cinnamomea

Antrodia cinnamomea, a precious, host-specific brown-rot fungus that has been used as a folk medicine in Taiwan for centuries is known to have diverse bioactive compounds with potent pharmaceutical activity. In this study, different fermentation states of A. cinnamomea (wild-type fruiting bodies and liquid cultured mycelium) were sequenced using the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technique. A 45.58 Mb genome encoding 6,522 predicted genes was obtained. High quality reads were assembled into a total of 13,109 unigenes. Using a previously constructed pipeline to search for microRNAs (miRNAs), we then identified 4 predicted conserved miRNA and 63 novel predicted miRNA-like small RNA (milRNA) candidates. Target prediction revealed several interesting proteins involved in tri-terpenoid synthesis, mating type recognition, chemical or physical sensory protein and transporters predicted to be regulated by the miRNAs and milRNAs.