Regulation of development and stress response by miRNAs

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ~18 to 24-nucleotide non-coding RNAs, which regulate gene expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels through cleavage or translational inhibition of target mRNA. In addition to the key regulatory processes such as cellular, biological‚ and developmental functions, a considerable fraction of miRNAs have been shown to play important roles in abiotic and biotic stress responses, such as nutritional deficiency, drought, salinity, cold, heat, oxidative stress, and heavy metal. Being a naturally stress tolerant crop, foxtail millet has invited research on genome-wide identification and characterization of miRNAs for their role(s) in abiotic stress. In this context, the present chapter summarizes the classes of small RNAs with emphasis on miRNAs and provides a snapshot on their roles in stress regulatory machinery in foxtail millet.