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Role of MicroRNAs in Biotic and Abiotic Stress Responses in Crop Plants

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Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding endogenous RNAs (18–24 nucleotides) which regulate gene expression at posttranscriptional level either by degrading the target mRNA (plants) or by blocking the protein translation through binding with 3′ UTR of the target mRNA (animals). Though miRNAs are known to play key roles in animal development, miRNAs that are involved in plant developmental timing, cell proliferation, and several other physiological functions need to be investigated. In addition, plant miRNAs have been shown to be involved in various biotic (bacterial and viral pathogenesis) and abiotic stress responses such as oxidative, mineral nutrient deficiency, drought, salinity, temperature, cold (chilling), and other abiotic stress. miRNA expression profiling reveals that miRNAs which are involved in the progression of plant growth and development are differentially expressed during abiotic stress responses. The high-throughout techniques can provide genome-wide identification of stress-associated miRNAs under various abiotic stresses in plants. Various web-based and non-web-based computational tools facilitate in the identification and characterization of biotic/abiotic stress associated miRNAs and their target genes. In the future, miRNA-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) approach might help in developing transgenic crop plants for better crop improvement by conferring resistance against biotic (pathogens) as well as abiotic stress responses.

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Abbreviations

miRNA:

microRNA

siRNA:

Small interfering RNA

SBP:

Squamosa promoter Binding Protein

ARF:

Auxin response factors

DCL1:

Dicer-Like 1

HD-ZIP:

Class III homeodomain-leucine zipper

AGO-1:

Argonaute-1

SCL:

Scarecrow-like

TCP:

Teosinte branched1-cycloidea-PCF

TIR1:

Transport inhibitor response1

APS:

ATP sulfurylase

AST:

Sulfate transporter

GRF:

Growth regulating factor

CSD:

Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase

CCS:

Copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase

PHO2:

Phosphate transporter

UBC2:

Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme

PPR:

Pentatrico peptide repeat protein

ABA:

Abscisic acid

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

MYB:

Myoblastosis

PARE:

Parallel analysis of RNA ends

PCD:

Programmed cell death

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

RACE:

Rapid amplification of cDNA ends

RISC:

RNA-induced silencing complex

RNA:

Ribonucleic acid

stRNA:

Short temporal RNA

UTR:

Untranslated regions

RNAi:

RNA interference

HSR:

Hypersensitive reaction

PR:

Pathogenesis-related

ABF:

ABA response element binding factor

ABRE:

ABA response element

PRR:

Pathogen recognition receptor

PAMP:

Pathogen-associated molecular pattern

RSV:

Rice stripe virus

VSR:

Viral suppressor of RNA silencing

TYMV:

Turnip yellow mosaic virus

TuMV:

Turnip mosaic virus

CMV:

Cucumber mosaic virus

bHLH:

Basic helix-loop-helix

DREB:

Dehydration-responsive element binding

CBF:

C-repeat binding factor

DRE:

Dehydration response element

SDC:

Sulfur-containing defense compound

APS1:

ATP sulfurylase

SULTR:

Sulfate transporter

ETR:

Ethylene receptors

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

AFB:

Auxin signaling F-Box

RAS:

Root system architecture

PCD:

Programmed cell death

PLC:

Phospholipase C

ABF-ABRE-binding factor:

AREB-ABA-responsive element binding protein

CRT:

C-repeat element

DRE:

Dehydration-responsive element

LTRE:

Low-temperature-response element

COR:

Cold responsive

FRY1:

Inositol polyphosphate 1-phosphatase

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Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (India) for providing M.Tech. fellowship in the course of his manuscript preparation. The author also expresses gratitude to Prof. Dr. Vikash Kumar Dubey for critical comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Internal Medicine I and Clinical Chemistry, Im Neuenheimer Feld 410, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany

    Rajesh Kumar

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Kumar, R. Role of MicroRNAs in Biotic and Abiotic Stress Responses in Crop Plants. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 174, 93–115 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-014-0914-2

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