Micro RNAs(mi RNAs) have been shown to play critical regulatory roles in gene expression in cotton. Although a large number of mi RNAs have been identified in cotton fibers, the functions of mi RNAs in seed development remain unexplored. In this study, a small RNA library was constructed from cotton seeds sampled at 15 days post-anthesis(DPA) and was subjected to high-throughput sequencing. A total of 95 known mi RNAs were detected to be expressed in cotton seeds. The expression pattern of these identified mi RNAs was profiled and 48 known mi RNAs were differentially expressed between cotton seeds and fibers at 15 DPA. In addition, 23 novel mi RNA candidates were identified in 15-DPA seeds. Putative targets for 21 novel and 87 known mi RNAs were successfully predicted and 900 expressed sequence tag(EST) sequences were proposed to be candidate target genes, which are involved in various metabolic and biological processes, suggesting a complex regulatory network in developing cotton seeds. Furthermore, mi RNA-mediated cleavage of three important transcripts in vivo was validated by RLM-5′ RACE. This study is the first to show the regulatory network of mi RNAs that are involved in developing cotton seeds and provides a foundation for future studies on the specific functions of these mi RNAs in seed development.
