Generation of different sizes and classes of small RNAs in barley is locus, chromosome and/or cultivar-dependent

BACKGROUND: Various small RNA (sRNA) sizes and varieties have been identified, but their relationship as well as relationship with their origins and allocations have not been well understood or investigated. RESULTS: By comparing sRNAs generated from two barley cultivars, Golden Promise (GP) and Pallas, we identified that the generation of different sizes and types of sRNAs in barley was locus-, chromosome- and/or cultivar-dependent. 20-nt sRNAs mainly comprising miRNAs and chloroplast-derived sRNAs were significantly over-expressed in Pallas vs. GP on chromosomes 3H and 6H. MiRNAs-enriched 21-nt sRNAs were significantly over-expressed in Pallas vs. GP only on chromosome 4H. On chromosome 5H this size of sRNAs was significantly under-expressed in Pallas, so were 22-nt sRNAs mainly comprising miRNAs and repeat-derived sRNAs. 24-nt sRNAs mostly derived from repeats were evenly distributed in all chromosomes and expressed similarly between GP and Pallas. Unlike other sizes of sRNAs, 24-nt sRNAs were little conserved in other plant species. Abundant sRNAs were mostly generated from 3’ terminal regions of chromosome 1H and 5’ terminal regions of chromosome 5H. Over-expressed miRNAs in GP vs. Pallas primarily function in stress responses and iron-binding. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that 23−24-nt sRNAs may be linked to repressive chromatin modifications and function in genome stability while 20−21-nt sRNAs may be important for the cultivar specificity. This study provides a novel insight into the mechanism of sRNA expression and function in barley. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3023-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.