Principles of miRNA/miRNA* function in plant MIRNA processing

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential regulators of gene expression, defined by their unique biogenesis, which requires the precise excision of the small RNA from an imperfect fold-back precursor. Unlike their animal counterparts, plant miRNA precursors exhibit variations in sizes and shapes. Plant MIRNA...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rosatti, Santiago, Rojas, Arantxa M. L., Moro, Belén, Suarez, Irina P., Bologna, Nicolas Gerardo, Chorostecki, Uciel, Palatnik, Javier F.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/372752
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/372752
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85201128682
Access Level:acceso abierto
Descripción
Sumario:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential regulators of gene expression, defined by their unique biogenesis, which requires the precise excision of the small RNA from an imperfect fold-back precursor. Unlike their animal counterparts, plant miRNA precursors exhibit variations in sizes and shapes. Plant MIRNAs can undergo processing in a base-to-loop or loop-to-base direction, with DICER-LIKE1 (DCL1) releasing the miRNA after two cuts (two-step MIRNAs) or more (sequential MIRNAs). In this study, we demonstrate the critical role of the miRNA/miRNA* duplex region in the processing of miRNA precursors. We observed that endogenous MIRNAs frequently experience suboptimal processing in vivo due to mismatches in the miRNA/miRNA* duplex, a key region that fine-tunes miRNA levels. Enhancing the interaction energy of the miRNA/miRNA* duplex in two-step MIRNAs results in a substantial increase in miRNA levels. Conversely, sequential MIRNAs display distinct and specific requirements for the miRNA/miRNA* duplexes along their foldback structure. Our work establishes a connection between the miRNA/miRNA* structure and precursor processing mechanisms. Furthermore, we reveal a link between the biological function of miRNAs and the processing mechanism of their precursors with the evolution of plant miRNA/miRNA* duplex structures.