Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2P5, Canada.
Plant Cell Environ. 2018 Jan;41(1):1-15. doi: 10.1111/pce.12956. Epub 2017 May 16.
Low temperature is one of the most common environmental stresses that seriously affect the growth and development of plants. However, plants have the plasticity in their defence mechanisms enabling them to tolerate and, sometimes, even survive adverse environmental conditions. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs, approximately 18-24 nucleotides in length, and are being increasingly recognized as regulators of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and have the ability to influence a broad range of biological processes. There is growing evidence in the literature that reprogramming of gene expression mediated through miRNAs is a major defence mechanism in plants enabling them to respond to stresses. To date, numerous studies have established the importance of miRNA-based regulation of gene expression under low temperature stress. Individual miRNAs can modulate the expression of multiple mRNA targets, and, therefore, the manipulation of a single miRNA has the potential to affect multiple biological processes. Numerous functional studies have attempted to identify the miRNA-target interactions and have elaborated the role of several miRNAs in cold-stress regulation. This review summarizes the current understanding of miRNA-mediated modulation of the expression of key genes as well as genetic and regulatory pathways, involved in low temperature stress responses in plants.
低温是最常见的环境胁迫之一，严重影响植物的生长和发育。然而，植物在其防御机制中具有可塑性，使它们能够耐受甚至有时在不利的环境条件下生存。 microRNAs (miRNAs) 是小的非编码 RNA，大约 18-24 个核苷酸长，并且越来越被认为是在转录后水平上调节基因表达的调节剂，并且能够影响广泛的生物过程。有越来越多的文献证据表明，通过 miRNAs 介导的基因表达重编程是植物的主要防御机制，使它们能够对胁迫做出反应。迄今为止，大量研究已经确立了 miRNA 调控低温胁迫下基因表达的重要性。单个 miRNAs 可以调节多个 mRNA 靶标的表达，因此，单个 miRNA 的操纵有可能影响多个生物过程。许多功能研究试图确定 miRNA-靶标相互作用，并详细阐述了在低温胁迫调节中的几个 miRNAs 的作用。本综述总结了当前对 miRNA 介导的关键基因表达的调控以及参与植物低温胁迫反应的遗传和调控途径的理解。
