title: The evolution of microRNAs in plants.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a central player in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression and are involved in numerous biological processes in eukaryotes. Knowledge of the origins and divergence of miRNAs paves the way for a better understanding of the complexity of the regulatory networks that they participate in. The biogenesis, degradation, and regulatory activities of miRNAs are relatively better understood, but the evolutionary history of miRNAs still needs more exploration. Inverted duplication of target genes, random hairpin sequences and small transposable elements constitute three main models that explain the origination of miRNA genes (MIR). Both inter-species and intra-species divergence of miRNAs exhibits functional adaptation and adaptation to changing environments in evolution. Here we summarize recent progress in studies on the evolution of MIR and related genes.
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, PR China; Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, PR China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, PR China; Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, PR China; Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Institute of Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
authors.forename: Chenjiang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, PR China; Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Institute of Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. Electronic address: xuemei.chen@ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020440:Gene Duplication; D055029:Inverted Repeat Sequences; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D035683:MicroRNAs; D018749:RNA, Plant