Yu Yu, Wang Han, You Chenjiang, Chen Xuemei
State Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Modulation Research, Peking-Tsinghua Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Beijing Advanced Center of RNA Biology (BEACON), Peking University, Beijing, China.
Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2025 Jul 18. doi: 10.1038/s41580-025-00871-y.
Since their discovery in 2002, much has been learnt about plant microRNAs (miRNAs), including the genes that encode them and the target genes that they regulate; the microprocessor complex that produces the miRNAs and the effector ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins with which miRNAs associate; the mechanisms of target-RNA recognition by miRNAs and miRNA modes of action; miRNA subcellular localization; and miRNA mobility between cells and within plants. In this Review, we discuss new mechanistic insights into miRNA maturation and AGO loading, the subcellular locations of miRNA processing and activity and partitioning of miRNAs between the nucleus and cytoplasm, which in turn affects their intercellular mobility. We also discuss intriguing connections between miRNAs and the translation process and present hypotheses to be tested by future studies.
自2002年植物微小RNA（miRNA）被发现以来，人们对其已有诸多了解，包括编码它们的基因、它们所调控的靶基因；产生miRNA的微处理器复合体以及与miRNA结合的效应蛋白AGO蛋白；miRNA识别靶RNA的机制及作用模式；miRNA的亚细胞定位；以及miRNA在细胞间和植物体内的移动性。在本综述中，我们讨论了有关miRNA成熟和AGO装载、miRNA加工和活性的亚细胞位置以及miRNA在细胞核与细胞质之间的分配的新机制见解，这些反过来又影响了它们的细胞间移动性。我们还讨论了miRNA与翻译过程之间有趣的联系，并提出了有待未来研究验证的假说。
