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Small but powerful: function of microRNAs in plant development

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Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of endogenous noncoding small RNAs frequently 21 nucleotides long. miRNAs act as negative regulators of their target genes through sequence-specific mRNA cleavage, translational repression, or chromatin modifications. Alterations of the expression of a miRNA or its targets often result in a variety of morphological and physiological abnormalities, suggesting the strong impact of miRNAs on plant development. Here, we review the recent advances on the functional studies of plant miRNAs. We will summarize the regulatory networks of miRNAs in a series of developmental processes, including meristem development, establishment of lateral organ polarity and boundaries, vegetative and reproductive organ growth, etc. We will also conclude the conserved and species-specific roles of plant miRNAs in evolution and discuss the strategies for further elucidating the functional mechanisms of miRNAs during plant development.

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Acknowledgements

Research in Tang lab and Huang lab is supported by the Guangdong Innovation Research Team Fund (2014ZT05S078), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31571252), NSF Grant (IOS-1340001), and the Natural Science Startup Foundation of Shenzhen University (2016101).

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  1. Haiping Liu and Hongyang Yu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, People’s Republic of China

    Hongyang Yu, Guiliang Tang & Tengbo Huang

  2. Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, People’s Republic of China

    Hongyang Yu

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA

    Haiping Liu & Guiliang Tang

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  1. Haiping Liu
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  2. Hongyang Yu
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  4. Tengbo Huang
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Correspondence to Tengbo Huang.

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Liu, H., Yu, H., Tang, G. et al. Small but powerful: function of microRNAs in plant development. Plant Cell Rep 37, 515–528 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-017-2246-5

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