MicroRNA Dynamics and Functions During Arabidopsis Embryogenesis

First author: Alexandra Plotnikova; Affiliations: Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (孟德尔分子植物生物学研究所): Vienna, Austria

Corresponding author: Michael D Nodine

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that mediate the repression of target transcripts in plants and animals. Although miRNAs are required throughout plant development, relatively little is known regarding their embryonic functions. To systematically characterize embryonic miRNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana, we developed or applied high-throughput sequencing based methods to profile hundreds of miRNAs and associated targets throughout embryogenesis. We discovered dozens of miRNAs that dynamically cleave and repress target transcripts including 30 that encode transcription factors. Transcriptome analyses indicated that these miRNA:target interactions have a profound impact on embryonic gene expression programs, and we further demonstrated that the miRNA-mediated repression of six transcription factors were individually required for embryo morphogenesis. These data indicate that the miRNA-directed repression of multiple transcription factors is critically important for the establishment of the plant body plan, and provide a foundation to further investigate how miRNAs contribute to these initial cellular differentiation events.

miRNAs是一类短的非编码RNA，其在动植物中介导靶转录本的抑制。尽管在植物整个发育过程中，miRNAs都是必需的，但其在胚胎发生过程中的作用目前还不是很清楚。为了系统鉴定拟南芥胚胎中的miRNAs，作者开发或应用了一个基于高通量测序的方法用来同时获取胚胎发生过程中数百个miRNAs及其相关的靶转录本。作者发现了数十个miRNAs能够动态剪切并抑制靶转录本，其中30个编码转录因子。转录组分析显示这些miRNA-靶转录本的互作对于胚胎发生过程中基因表达具有深远的影响。另外，作者还鉴定了miRNA介导的六个转录因子的抑制对于拟南芥胚胎形态建成具有各自特定的作用。本文的研究揭示了miRNA介导的对于多个转录因子的抑制对于有植物在胚胎发生时建立体轴至关重要，并且为进一步研究这些miRNAs如何作用于这些初始细胞分化事件奠定了基础。

通讯：Michael Nodine (https://www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/research/research-groups/michael-nodine/)

个人简介：2002年，美国克莱姆森大学，学士；2007年，美国亚利桑那大学，博士；2007-2012年，美国Whitehead生物医学研究所，博士后。

研究方向：植物早期胚胎发生。

doi: https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00395

Journal: Plant Cell

First Published: September 27, 2019

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