Plant miRNA responses under temperature stress

Abstract

miRNAs are 20–22 nucleotide long regulatory RNA molecules, that are at the forefront of post-transcriptional gene regulation in plants under a plethora of biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Research on miRNA and target gene interactions during stress conditions in crop plants have significantly increased in the last decade owing to the availability of genome sequences and access to economical and fast next generation sequencing techniques. This allows scientists a broad but necessary insight into specific regulatory modules that are forefront of stress responsive gene regulation. The changes in the global climate patterns presents us with extreme weather conditions, where the daily minimum and maximum temperatures in many regions having arable lands are reaching never seen extremes. This results in exposure of the crops to temperature fluctuations and resultant stress conditions that were not previously observed. In this context, we have in this review, presented a concise version of the information on miRNA and their target gene modulation under temperature stress conditions, in specific crop plants, that has been unravelled through these sequencing techniques.