Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
Biotechnol Adv. 2010 May-Jun;28(3):301-7. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2010.01.002. Epub 2010 Jan 11.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, endogenous, noncoding RNAs that negatively modulate the expression of genes by inhibiting translation or by promoting the degradation of target mRNAs. miRNAs are now known to have greatly expanded roles in a variety of plant developmental processes, in signal transduction, and in the response to environmental stress and pathogen invasion. Because of their ability to inactivate either specific genes or entire gene families, artificial miRNAs function as dominant suppressors of gene activity when brought into a plant. Consequently, miRNA-based manipulations have emerged as promising new approaches for the improvement of crops. This includes the development of breeding strategies and the genetic modification of agronomic traits. Herein, we highlight new findings regarding the roles of miRNAs in plant traits, and describe the current miRNA-based plant engineering approaches. Finally, we consider the feasibility of modulating current approaches to address future challenges such as breeding programs to increase crop yield.
微小 RNA（miRNAs）是小的、内源性的、非编码的 RNA，通过抑制翻译或促进靶 mRNAs 的降解来负调控基因的表达。miRNAs 现在被认为在多种植物发育过程、信号转导以及对环境胁迫和病原体入侵的反应中具有广泛的作用。由于它们能够使特定基因或整个基因家族失活，当人工 miRNA 被引入植物时，它们可以作为基因活性的显性抑制剂。因此，基于 miRNA 的操作已成为改善作物的有前途的新方法。这包括开发育种策略和遗传修饰农艺性状。本文重点介绍了 miRNAs 在植物性状中的作用的新发现，并描述了当前基于 miRNA 的植物工程方法。最后，我们考虑了调节当前方法的可行性，以应对未来的挑战，例如提高作物产量的育种计划。
