title: MicroRNA Regulatory Mechanisms Play Different Roles in Arabidopsis.
abstract: Plant microRNAs (miRNAs) operate by guiding the cleavage or translational inhibition of mRNA targets. They act as key gene regulators for development and environmental adaptation, and Dicer-partnering proteins DRB1 and DRB2 govern which form of regulation plays the dominant role. Mutation of Drb1 impairs transcript cleavage, whereas mutation of Drb2 ablates translational inhibition. Regulation of gene expression by miRNA-guided cleavage has been extensively studied, but there is much less information about genes regulated through miRNA-mediated translation inhibition. Here, we compared the proteomes of drb1 and drb2 mutants to gain insight into the indirect effect of the different miRNA regulatory mechanisms in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our results show that miRNAs operating through transcript cleavage regulate a broad spectrum of processes, including catabolism and anabolism, and this was particularly obvious in the fatty acid degradation pathway. Enzymes catalyzing each step of this pathway were upregulated in drb1. In contrast, DRB2-associated translational inhibition appears to be less ubiquitous and specifically aimed toward responses against abiotic or biotic stimuli.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney , Macleay Building A12, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.|Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, University of Sydney , Eveleigh, NSW 2015, Australia.
authors.forename: Rodrigo S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Initiative, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales , Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Gene
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hart-Smith
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle , Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Eamens
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Initiative, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales , Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Marc R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Wilkins
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney , Macleay Building A12, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.|Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, Queensland University of Technology , Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Waterhouse
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D007553:Isotope Labeling; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D059367:RNA Cleavage; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D043244:Ribonuclease III / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C561224:DRB2 protein, Arabidopsis; D005227:Fatty Acids; C420966:HYL1 protein, Arabidopsis; D035683:MicroRNAs; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C402383:DCL1 protein, Arabidopsis; D043244:Ribonuclease III
keywords: Arabidopsis; DRB1; DRB2; miRNA; translation inhibition