Functional role of microRNA in the regulation of biotic and abiotic stress in agronomic plants

Abstract

The increasing demand for food is the result of an increasing population. It is crucial to enhance crop yield for sustainable production. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have gained importance because of their involvement in crop productivity by regulating gene transcription in numerous biological processes, such as growth, development and abiotic and biotic stresses. miRNAs are small, non-coding RNA involved in numerous other biological functions in a plant that range from genomic integrity, metabolism, growth, and development to environmental stress response, which collectively influence the agronomic traits of the crop species. Additionally, miRNA families associated with various agronomic properties are conserved across diverse plant species. The miRNA adaptive responses enhance the plants to survive environmental stresses, such as drought, salinity, cold, and heat conditions, as well as biotic stresses, such as pathogens and insect pests. Thus, understanding the detailed mechanism of the potential response of miRNAs during stress response is necessary to promote the agronomic traits of crops. In this review, we updated the details of the functional aspects of miRNAs as potential regulators of various stress-related responses in agronomic plants.

Genome-wide identification analysis of the 4-Coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL) gene family expression profiles in Juglans regia and its wild relatives J. Mandshurica resistance and salt stress

“…MicroRNAs have become a research hotspot because they regulate gene transcription and thus affect plant productivity in many processes such as growth, development, and environmental stresses [85]. MiRNAs adaptive responses can increase plant survival in environments such as drought, salinity, and pathogens [86]. We found that 35 Jr4CLs and 30 Jm4CLs were predicted to be the target genes of 260 and 218 Arabidopsis miRNAs, respectively (Fig.…”

Identification and expression profiling of microRNAs in leaf tissues of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. under salinity stress

“… 1 As a matter of fact, plant miRNAs have been widely associated with several biological functions, including development and reproduction, 2 cell reprogramming, 3 secondary metabolism, 4 and biotic and abiotic stress responses. 5 …”