Plant microRNA maturation and function
Jul. 22, 2025
Prof. Xuemei Chen published a review in Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology.
Since their discovery in 2002, much has been learnt about plant microRNAs (miRNAs), including the genes that encode them and the target genes that they regulate; the microprocessor complex that produces the miRNAs and the effector ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins with which miRNAs associate; the mechanisms of target-RNA recognition by miRNAs and miRNA modes of action; miRNA subcellular localization; and miRNA mobility between cells and within plants. In this Review, we discuss new mechanistic insights into miRNA maturation and AGO loading, the subcellular locations of miRNA processing and activity and partitioning of miRNAs between the nucleus and cytoplasm, which in turn affects their intercellular mobility. We also discuss intriguing connections between miRNAs and the translation process and present hypotheses to be tested by future studies.
Original link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41580-025-00871-y