MicroRNAs in Plants: A Review

MicroRNAs (MiRNA) are short non-coding RNA strands that regulate expression of certain genes. Several MiRNAs have been implicated in plant growth and development responses like regulation of the hormone auxin, as well as responses to nutrient starvation. Recent studies have shown the involvement of miRNAs in sulfate assimilation and translocation and phosphate homeostasis. MiRNA can regulate gene expression by binding to specific messenger RNAs (RNA molecules encoding proteins) and thereby interfering with its translation, and sometimes facilitating their degradation.

Not much is known about the regulation of miRNA expression in plants. Many studies are ongoing to validate the miRNAs that have been identified, as well as the identification of other new candidate miRNAs and the determination of how conserved miRNAs are between plants. The fact that many miRNA are found across plant species suggests an ancient origin of these important regulatory units. Numerous studies are also being conducted regarding the application of miRNA in biotechnology. There is the possibility of using miRNAs as a tool for gene silencing.

 The open access article published by the journal Plant Physiology is available at http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/146/1/3