Abstract
Plants require several essential mineral nutrients for their growth and development. These nutrients are required to maintain physiological processes and structural integrity in plants. The root architecture has evolved to absorb nutrients from soil and transport them to other parts of the plant. Nutrient deficiency affects several physiological and biological processes in plants and leads to reduction in crop productivity and yield. To compensate this adversity, plants have developed adaptive mechanisms to enhance the acquisition, conservation, and mobilization of these nutrients under deficient or adverse conditions. In addition, plants have evolved an intricate nexus of complex signaling cascades, which help in nutrient sensing and uptake as well as to maintain nutrient homeostasis. In recent years, small non-coding RNAs such as micro RNAs (miRNAs) and endogenous small interfering RNAs have emerged as important component in regulating plant stress responses. A set of these small RNAs (sRNAs) have been implicated in regulating various processes involved in nutrient uptake, assimilation, and deficiency. In response to phosphorus (P) and sulphur (S) deficiencies, role of sRNAs, miR395 and miR399, have been identified to be instrumental; however, many more miRNAs might be involved in regulating the plant response to these nutrient stresses. These sRNAs modulate expression of target genes in response to P and S deficiencies and regulate their uptake and utilization for proper growth and development of the plant. This review summarizes the current understanding of uptake, sensing, and signaling of P and S and highlights the regulatory role of sRNAs in adaptive responses to these nutrient stresses in plants.
Highlights
Plants acquire mineral nutrients from the soil through extensive root system for their growth and development (Lynch, 2011; Gruber et al, 2013)
All the three inducible micro RNAs (miRNAs) target genes involved in the ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation pathway, which suggest that the post-translational regulation of genes is a key component in the adaptive response of Pi-deficiency
The roots and other aerial parts of the plant act as an extension for various signaling cascades to form a nexus to adapt to nutrient stress. miRNAs being an important component of this nexus, have been found to be riboregulatory in regulation of nutrient sensing, transport and assimilation, such as miR395 and miR399 for S and P, respectively
Summary
Plants acquire mineral nutrients from the soil through extensive root system for their growth and development (Lynch, 2011; Gruber et al, 2013). There are 16 essential mineral nutrients, which are crucial for plant development These are required in different amounts and are categorized as primary, secondary, and micronutrients. The requirement of micronutrients is as essential as the primary and secondary nutrients for plant growth and development These nutrients are taken up by the root system from the soil and associated microorganisms such as rhizobium and mycorrhizal associations. A number of studies suggest that these sRNAs regulate gene expression and modulate plant growth and development in normal or stress conditions including nutrient deficiency (He and Hannon, 2004; Sunkar et al, 2007; Paul et al, 2015; Melnikova et al, 2016; Sharma et al, 2016; Wang et al, 2016). The focus of the review is on the nutrients P and S, which are essential for the growth and stress response in plants
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