The Making of Leaves: How Small RNA Networks Modulate Leaf Development

Tianxiao Yang; Yongyan Wang; Sachin Teotia; Zhanhui Zhang; Guiliang Tang

doi:10.3389/fpls.2018.00824

The Making of Leaves: How Small RNA Networks Modulate Leaf Development

Front Plant Sci. 2018 Jun 18:9:824. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00824. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Tianxiao Yang^{1

2}, Yongyan Wang^{1

2}, Sachin Teotia^{1

2

3}, Zhanhui Zhang¹, Guiliang Tang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Grain Crops, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China.
² Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, United States.
³ Department of Biotechnology, Sharda University,Greater Noida, India.

Abstract

Leaf development is a sequential process that involves initiation, determination, transition, expansion and maturation. Many coding genes and a few non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) have been identified as being involved in leaf development. sRNAs and their interactions not only determine gene expression and regulation, but also play critical roles in leaf development through their coordination with other genetic networks and physiological pathways. In this review, we first introduce the biogenesis pathways of sRNAs, mainly microRNAs (miRNAs) and trans-acting small interfering RNAs (ta-siRNAs), and then describe the function of miRNA-transcription factors in leaf development, focusing on guidance by interactive sRNA regulatory networks.

Keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; leaf development; regulatory network; small RNAs; target genes.

Publication types

Review