State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China.
School of Environment Science and Spatial Informaftics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Aug 3;23(15):8642. doi: 10.3390/ijms23158642.
Environmental metal pollution is a common problem threatening sustainable and safe crop production. Heavy metals (HMs) cause toxicity by targeting key molecules and life processes in plant cells. Plants counteract excess metals in the environment by enhancing defense responses, such as metal chelation, isolation to vacuoles, regulating metal intake through transporters, and strengthening antioxidant mechanisms. In recent years, microRNAs (miRNAs), as a small non-coding RNA, have become the central regulator of a variety of abiotic stresses, including HMs. With the introduction of the latest technologies such as next-generation sequencing (NGS), more and more miRNAs have been widely recognized in several plants due to their diverse roles. Metal-regulated miRNAs and their target genes are part of a complex regulatory network. Known miRNAs coordinate plant responses to metal stress through antioxidant functions, root growth, hormone signals, transcription factors (TF), and metal transporters. This article reviews the research progress of miRNAs in the stress response of plants to the accumulation of HMs, such as Cu, Cd, Hg, Cr, and Al, and the toxicity of heavy metal ions.
环境金属污染是威胁可持续和安全作物生产的一个常见问题。重金属（HMs）通过靶向植物细胞中的关键分子和生命过程来引起毒性。植物通过增强防御反应来对抗环境中的过量金属，例如金属螯合、隔离到液泡中、通过转运蛋白调节金属摄入以及增强抗氧化机制。近年来，作为一种小的非编码 RNA 的 microRNAs（miRNAs）已成为包括 HMs 在内的多种非生物胁迫的中央调节剂。随着下一代测序（NGS）等最新技术的引入，由于其多样化的作用，越来越多的 miRNAs 在几种植物中得到了广泛的认可。金属调节的 miRNAs 及其靶基因是一个复杂的调控网络的一部分。已知的 miRNAs 通过抗氧化功能、根系生长、激素信号、转录因子（TF）和金属转运蛋白来协调植物对金属胁迫的反应。本文综述了 miRNAs 在植物对 Cu、Cd、Hg、Cr 和 Al 等 HM 积累以及重金属离子毒性的应激反应中的研究进展。
