title: MicroRNAs play critical roles during plant development and in response to abiotic stresses.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as key molecules in regulatory networks. The fine-tuning role of miRNAs in addition to the regulatory role of transcription factors has shown that molecular events during development are tightly regulated. In addition, several miRNAs play crucial roles in the response to abiotic stress induced by drought, salinity, low temperatures, and metals such as aluminium. Interestingly, several miRNAs have overlapping roles with regard to development, stress responses, and nutrient homeostasis. Moreover, in response to the same abiotic stresses, different expression patterns for some conserved miRNA families among different plant species revealed different metabolic adjustments. The use of deep sequencing technologies for the characterisation of miRNA frequency and the identification of new miRNAs adds complexity to regulatory networks in plants. In this review, we consider the regulatory role of miRNAs in plant development and abiotic stresses, as well as the impact of deep sequencing technologies on the generation of miRNA data.
authors: Laboratório de Genomas e Populações de Plantas, Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. ; Laboratório de Fisiologia Vegetal, Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. ; Programa de Pósgraduação em Genética e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors: Júlio César
authors: JC
authors: de Lima
authors: Guilherme
authors: G
authors: Loss-Morais
authors: Rogerio
authors: R
authors: Margis
keywords: abiotic stress; deep sequencing; development; miRNAs; nutrients