The miR165/166 Mediated Regulatory Module Plays Critical Roles in ABA Homeostasis and Response in Arabidopsis thaliana.
The function of miR165/166 in plant growth and development has been extensively studied, however, its roles in abiotic stress responses remain largely unknown. Here, we report that reduction in the expression of miR165/166 conferred a drought and cold resistance phenotype and hypersensitivity to ABA during seed germination and post-germination seedling development. We further show that the ABA hypersensitive phenotype is associated with a changed transcript abundance of ABA-responsive genes and a higher expression level of ABI4, which can be directly regulated by a miR165/166 target. Additionally, we found that reduction in miR165/166 expression leads to elevated ABA levels, which occurs at least partially through the increased expression of BG1, a gene that is directly regulated by a miR165/166 target. Taken together, our results uncover a novel role for miR165/166 in the regulation of ABA and abiotic stress responses and control of ABA homeostasis.
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, and Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.|Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
Jun
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9133-0034
J
Yan
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, and Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.|Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
Chunzhao
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0284-2095
C
Zhao
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
Jianping
J
Zhou
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, and Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.|Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
Yu
Y
Yang
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, and Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.|Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
Pengcheng
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6043-4132
P
Wang
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, and Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.|Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
Xiaohong
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8181-4943
X
Zhu
Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America.
Guiliang
G
Tang
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
Ray A
RA
Bressan
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, and Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.|Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
Jian-Kang
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5134-731X
JK
Zhu
D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D055864:Droughts; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018525:Germination / Q000235:genetics; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000235:genetics; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D036226:Seedlings / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics
D035683:MicroRNAs; D000040:Abscisic Acid