Noncoding-RNA-Mediated Regulation in Response to Macronutrient Stress in Plants.

Ziwei Li,Peng Tian,Jianzi Huang,Tengbo Huang

doi:10.3390/ijms222011205

Ziwei Li, Peng Tian + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222011205

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Abstract

Macronutrient elements including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S) are required in relatively large and steady amounts for plant growth and development. Deficient or excessive supply of macronutrients from external environments may trigger a series of plant responses at phenotypic and molecular levels during the entire life cycle. Among the intertwined molecular networks underlying plant responses to macronutrient stress, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), mainly microRNAs (miRNAs) and long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), may serve as pivotal regulators for the coordination between nutrient supply and plant demand, while the responsive ncRNA-target module and the interactive mechanism vary among elements and species. Towards a comprehensive identification and functional characterization of nutrient-responsive ncRNAs and their downstream molecules, high-throughput sequencing has produced massive omics data for comparative expression profiling as a first step. In this review, we highlight the recent findings of ncRNA-mediated regulation in response to macronutrient stress, with special emphasis on the large-scale sequencing efforts for screening out candidate nutrient-responsive ncRNAs in plants, and discuss potential improvements in theoretical study to provide better guidance for crop breeding practices.

Highlights

A recent study based on high-throughput sequencing of Arabidopsis roots under the treatments of high Ca content or/and a nonpathogenic growthpromoting rhizobacterium proposed a long ncRNAs (lncRNAs)–miRNA–mRNA regulatory network underlying the improved resistance of Arabidopsis to high Ca stress [132]
The roles of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), especially miRNAs, in regulating plant responses to nutrient stress have already been studied for all macronutrient elements, but the responsive miRNA-target module and the regulatory mechanism vary among elements and species
Some miRNAs might interact with other types of ncRNAs such as lncRNAs or circular RNA (circRNA) to counteract macronutrient stress

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Osa-miR166 could target a transcription factor gene, OsRDD1, while overexpressing OsRDD1 induced the expression of genes involved in the uptake process of NH4 + , Na+ , SO4 2− , Cl− , and PO4 3− , enhancing N responsiveness and grain productivity of rice [49]. The main miRNAs involved in S stress response is miR395 (Figure 1), which targets two genes encoding ATP sulfurylase (APS) and SULTR2;1 for S assimilation and S allocation, respectively [97]. Large-scale screening by deep sequencing has identified a number of candidate Mg-deficiency-responsive miRNAs in leaves and roots of Mg-starved Citrus, and the possible target genes of these miRNAs have been shown to be involved in plant response to stress and chlorophyll synthesis [107,108]. The functions of some candidate miRNAs and their target genes have been verified in Arabidopsis [107], the regulatory mechanisms of these miRNAs in Mg stress response remain to be further addressed

Large-Scale Identification of miRNAs Responsive to Differential

Other Types of ncRNAs Involved in Nutrient Stress Response

Conclusions and Perspectives