Abstract
Small RNAs (sRNAs) encoded by plant genomes have received widespread attention because they can affect multiple biological processes. Different sRNAs that are synthesized in plant cells can move throughout the plants, transport to plant pathogens via extracellular vesicles (EVs), and transfer to mammals via food. Small RNAs function at the target sites through DNA methylation, RNA interference, and translational repression. In this article, we reviewed the systematic processes of sRNA biogenesis, trafficking, and the underlying mechanisms of its functions.
Highlights
Excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers has already caused dramatic damages to the ecological environment, yet some pests and plant diseases are still not completely controlled and prevented
It functions only when it binds to the target sites based on AGO-guided watson-crick base pairing rules (Fei et al, 2021). miRNA and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can mediate transcriptional gene silencing through RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM), and perform post-transcriptional gene silencing through cleavage and translational inhibition without changing the DNA sequence (Borges and Martienssen, 2015)
Among all kinds of small RNAs (sRNAs), 24 nt sRNA is classified as sidRNA (Ye et al, 2016). sRNA can mediate transcriptional gene silencing by RdDM, which includes the initial recruitment of DNA methyltransferase and subsequent catalytic de novo DNA methylation of cytosine in all sequences after pairing of AGO loaded siRNA with Pol V transcribed scaffold RNA (Huang et al, 2021; Figure 3A)
Summary
Excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers has already caused dramatic damages to the ecological environment, yet some pests and plant diseases are still not completely controlled and prevented. Transcription of miRNA genes (MIRs) in euchromatic regions of plant chromosomes is catalyzed by DNA-dependent RNA Polymerase II (Pol II; Figure 1A; Xie et al, 2005).
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