Table 4. Statistics of sRNA sequences for four alfalfa libraries.
| Category | Number of reads | Unique sequence |
| DM1 | ||
| Total reads | 6,029,847 | 1,693,394 |
| Sequences mapped to the transcriptome | 2,745,473 | 358,615 |
| Match known miRNA | 42,960 | 866 |
| Transcriptome-matched small RNAs with predicted hairpins | 4,710 | 566 |
| NM2 | ||
| Total reads | 5,680,282 | 1,985,915 |
| Sequences mapped to the transcriptome | 1,833,729 | 315,089 |
| Match known miRNA | 44,499 | 923 |
| Transcriptome-matched small RNAs with predicted hairpins | 4,345 | 590 |
| DS3 | ||
| Total reads | 5,178,165 | 1,449,168 |
| Sequences mapped to the transcriptome | 2,963,552 | 341,796 |
| Match known miRNA | 36,531 | 777 |
| Transcriptome-matched small RNAs with predicted hairpins | 4,931 | 460 |
| NS4 | ||
| Total reads | 3,703,470 | 1,185,319 |
| Sequences mapped to the transcriptome | 2,012,514 | 248,641 |
| Match known miRNA | 31,811 | 797 |
| Transcriptome-matched small RNAs with predicted hairpins | 2,535 | 455 |
Note: 1. Mapping of sequence reads back to transcriptome, using Trinity assembler with the aligner bowtie.
2. Screening sRNA within the scope of a certain length (15∼40 nt) for subsequent analysis (base on clean reads).