Untranslated yet indispensable - UTRs act as key regulators in the environmental control of gene expression.

Abstract

To survive and thrive in a dynamic environment, plants must continuously monitor their surroundings and adjust their development and physiology accordingly. Changes in gene expression underlie these developmental and physiological adjustments and are traditionally attributed to widespread transcriptional reprogramming. Growing evidence, however, suggests that post-transcriptional mechanisms also play a vital role in tailoring gene expression to a plant's environment. Untranslated regions (UTRs) act as regulatory hubs for post-transcriptional control, harbouring cis elements that affect an mRNA's processing, localisation, translation and stability and thereby tune the abundance of the encoded protein. Here, we review recent advances made in understanding the critical function UTRs exert in the post-transcriptional control of gene expression in the context of a plant's abiotic environment. We summarise the molecular mechanisms at play, present examples of UTR-controlled signalling cascades and discuss the potential that resides within UTRs to render plants more resilient to a changing climate.