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Plant Molecular Biology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg,
Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, A. M. University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
microRNAs (miRNAs), a recently discovered class of small RNAs, are endogenously transcribed non-coding RNAs that are known to
control diverse developmental processes and defense responses. They regulate these pathways by ne-tuning the levels of transcripts to
which they bind and cause their cleavage or translation repression. Several studies on the processing of miRNA precursors have shed light
on the essential structural features for precise release of miRNA duplexes. The identication of a protein that degrade single stranded
small RNA has provided us with some understanding of how miRNA ux is maintained in plants. This review focuses on the genome
organization, biogenesis, miRNA activity, and the fate of miRNAs.
J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 31633168, 2012. 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Plant miRNAs
Origin of miRNA
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microRNA biogenesis
Nuclear processing
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Fig. 2. Schematic representation of pre-miR structure and unique features determining the pre-miR processing in (a) animals and (b) plants.
a: In animals, pre-miRs have highly uniform size and assume similar secondary structures. In a sequential manner, these are processed by two
endonucleases Drosha and Dicer. The rst cut is mediated by Drosha which is 11 nt from the base of stem. Dicer then cleaves the Drosha
product to release 22 nt miR/miRM duplex. b: On the basis of processing plant pre-miRs are classied into two distinct categoriesstemloop and
loopbase. (i) Those with short stemloop are generally processed through stem to loop and most of the plant pre-miRs studied are known to
be processed in this manner. This is similar to animal processing; however, the cleavage occurs at 15 nt from the stem terminal. (ii) Two plant
pre-miRs (pre-miR159 and 319) have long stemloop structures and the initial cut is located near terminal loop. The generation of miR/miRM
duplex require multiple (4) cuts by DCL1 before the release of miR/miRM duplex. The presence of bulges within and below the miR/miRM duplex
favors the generation of bonade mature miRNAs.
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