Wang Meng, Wu Hua-Jun, Fang Jun, Chu Chengcai, Wang Xiu-Jie
State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Sci Bull (Beijing). 2017 Apr 15;62(7):470-475. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2017.03.013. Epub 2017 Apr 1.
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) participate in the regulation of multiple biological processes via diverse manners, one of which is functioning as endogenous target mimics (eTMs) to modulate microRNAs (miRNAs) by competing for their targets. Previously, we have predicted one lncRNA (osa-eTM160) as an endogenous repressor of osa-miR160 and validated the target mimicry ability of osa-eTM160 for ath-miR160 in Arabidopsis thaliana, yet the functions of osa-eTM160 in rice remain obscure. Here, we demonstrated that osa-eTM160 attenuated the repression of osa-miR160 on osa-ARF18 mRNAs during early anther developmental stages through the target mimicry manner, therefore to regulate rice seed setting and seed size. These findings revealed the roles of osa-eTM160 in rice, and indicated that lncRNAs with eTM functions may serve as temporal regulators to modulate the effects of miRNAs at specific developmental stages.
长链非编码RNA（lncRNAs）通过多种方式参与多种生物学过程的调控，其中一种方式是作为内源性靶标模拟物（eTMs），通过竞争靶标来调节微小RNA（miRNAs）。此前，我们预测了一种lncRNA（osa-eTM160）作为osa-miR160的内源性抑制剂，并在拟南芥中验证了osa-eTM160对ath-miR160的靶标模拟能力，但osa-eTM160在水稻中的功能仍不清楚。在此，我们证明了osa-eTM160在花药发育早期阶段通过靶标模拟方式减弱了osa-miR160对osa-ARF18 mRNA的抑制作用，从而调控水稻的结实率和种子大小。这些发现揭示了osa-eTM160在水稻中的作用，并表明具有eTM功能的lncRNAs可能作为时间调节剂，在特定发育阶段调节miRNAs的作用。
