Webb Jessica, Zhao Min, Campbell Alexandra H, Paul Nicholas A, Cummins Scott F, Eamens Andrew L
Seaweed Research Group, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD 4558, Australia.
School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD 4558, Australia.
Genes (Basel). 2025 Apr 9;16(4):442. doi: 10.3390/genes16040442.
In plants and animals, the microRNA (miRNA) class of small regulatory RNA plays an essential role in controlling gene expression in all aspects of development, to respond to environmental stress, or to defend against pathogen attack. This well-established master regulatory role for miRNAs has led to each protein-mediated step of both the plant and animal miRNA pathways being thoroughly characterized. Furthermore, this degree of characterization has led to the development of a suite of miRNA-based technologies for gene expression manipulation for fundamental research or for use in industrial or medical applications. In direct contrast, molecular research on the miRNA pathway of macroalgae, specifically seaweeds (marine macroalgae), remains in its infancy. However, the molecular research conducted to date on the seaweed miRNA pathway has shown that it shares functional features specific to either the plant or animal miRNA pathway. In addition, of the small number of seaweed species where miRNA data is available, little sequence conservation of individual miRNAs exists. These preliminary findings show the pressing need for substantive research into the seaweed miRNA pathway to advance our current understanding of this essential gene expression regulatory process. Such research will also generate the knowledge required to develop novel miRNA-based technologies for use in seaweeds. In this review, we compare and contrast the seaweed miRNA pathway to those well-characterized pathways of plants and animals and outline the low degree of miRNA sequence conservation across the polyphyletic group known as the seaweeds.
在植物和动物中，小型调控RNA中的微小RNA（miRNA）类别在控制发育各方面的基因表达、应对环境胁迫或抵御病原体攻击中发挥着至关重要的作用。miRNA这种已确立的主要调控作用使得植物和动物miRNA途径中由蛋白质介导的每一步都得到了充分表征。此外，这种表征程度促成了一系列基于miRNA的技术的发展，用于基础研究中的基因表达操纵，或用于工业或医学应用。与之形成直接对比的是，大型藻类，特别是海藻（海洋大型藻类）的miRNA途径的分子研究仍处于起步阶段。然而，迄今为止对海藻miRNA途径进行的分子研究表明，它具有植物或动物miRNA途径特有的功能特征。此外，在少数有miRNA数据的海藻物种中，单个miRNA的序列保守性很低。这些初步发现表明迫切需要对海藻miRNA途径进行实质性研究，以推进我们目前对这一重要基因表达调控过程的理解。此类研究还将产生开发用于海藻的新型基于miRNA的技术所需的知识。在这篇综述中，我们比较并对比了海藻miRNA途径与植物和动物中那些已充分表征的途径，并概述了在被称为海藻的多系类群中miRNA序列保守性的低程度。
