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Biomass production and salinity response in plants: role of MicroRNAs

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Abstract

Small non-coding RNAs are one of the major contributors for diverse cellular functions in plants. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are one such class of small non-coding RNAs playing crucial role in normal plant growth and development as well as under environmental stresses. miRNA modulates the transcripts level by directly binding to the transcript generated from the target gene and mediate either the cleavage of the target mRNA transcript or the inhibitition of translation of the target transcript or inhibition of target gene expression through epigenetic modification. In the current scenario, understanding the link between the diverse miRNAs and their orchestrated functioning for regulation of stress signaling as well as biomass production is a major challenge. In the present review, we have explored the current knowledge about the plant miRNA families and their functional aspects, particularly in the context of salinity stress tolerance and higher biomass production. We conclude that miRNA families such as miR156, 159, 164, 166, 319, 393, 396 and 414 are possibly mediating the cross talk between biomass production and salinity stress response. The present review may improve the current knowledge about the plant miRNAs and thus may help in generating crop plants for marginal lands.

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Acknowledgements

RJ would like to acknowledge Dr D S Kothari Postdoctoral Fellowship from UGC and PG would like to acknowledge the Senior Research fellowship from CSIR respectively. AP and SLS-P are supported by funding from the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) for Indo-US Advanced Bioenergy Consortium (IUABC). Research in the lab of AP is also supported from funds received from International Atomic Energy Agency (Vienna), UGC-RNW and UPE-II, JNU.

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  1. Rohit Joshi and Priyanka Gupta have contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Rohit Joshi, Priyanka Gupta & Ashwani Pareek

  2. Plant Stress Biology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Sneh L. Singla-Pareek

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  1. Rohit Joshi
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  2. Priyanka Gupta
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  3. Sneh L. Singla-Pareek
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  4. Ashwani Pareek
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Correspondence to Ashwani Pareek.

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Joshi, R., Gupta, P., Singla-Pareek, S.L. et al. Biomass production and salinity response in plants: role of MicroRNAs. Ind J Plant Physiol. 22, 448–457 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-017-0327-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-017-0327-7

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