microRNAs and Their Roles in Plant Development

Qingkun Dong; Binbin Hu; Cui Zhang

doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.824240

microRNAs and Their Roles in Plant Development

Front Plant Sci. 2022 Feb 18:13:824240. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.824240. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Qingkun Dong¹, Binbin Hu^{1

2}, Cui Zhang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
² College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Small RNAs are short non-coding RNAs with a length ranging between 20 and 24 nucleotides. Of these, microRNAs (miRNAs) play a distinct role in plant development. miRNAs control target gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, either through direct cleavage or inhibition of translation. miRNAs participate in nearly all the developmental processes in plants, such as juvenile-to-adult transition, shoot apical meristem development, leaf morphogenesis, floral organ formation, and flowering time determination. This review summarizes the research progress in miRNA-mediated gene regulation and its role in plant development, to provide the basis for further in-depth exploration regarding the function of miRNAs and the elucidation of the molecular mechanism underlying the interaction of miRNAs and other pathways.

Keywords: crop yield; hormone; microRNA; microRNA movement; plant development.

Publication types

Review