Abstract

Plant microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of about 21-nucleotide-long small noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), generally act as key regulators of their target genes by guiding mRNA cleavage or translational repression. Recent researches have reported that miRNAs can interact with pathway-related structural genes, transcription factors (TFs) and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) to form regulatory network in secondary metabolite (SM) biosynthetic pathways. The validated interactions can better reflect the real regulatory mechanism of miRNA and convert miRNAs into more efficient tools to control the production of precious SMs. However, there is no systematic review available on this topic especially in plants, particularly model plants and crops. Here, we firstly overviewed the critical secondary metabolic pathways in plants, especially those biosynthetic pathways related structural genes which were well-studied and representative SMs, including phenylpropanoids, terpenoids, alkaloids. Principally, we summarized miRNAs involved in the biosynthesis of SMs, miRNA-target modules and their regulation on the mentioned pathways in the last decade. Significantly, the modules included miRNA-structural gene, miRNA-TF, miRNA-ncRNA interaction pairs carried out by target validation or functional confirmation. This knowledge will promote understanding the sophisticated miRNA-mediated gene regulatory network of SM biosynthesis, and drive the development of synthetic biology.

摘要

植物 microRNA (miRNA) 是一类长约 21 个核苷酸的小非编码 RNA (ncRNA)，通常通过指导 mRNA 切割或翻译抑制作为其靶基因的关键调节因子。最近的研究表明，miRNA 可以与通路相关的结构基因、转录因子 (TF) 和非编码 RNA (ncRNA) 相互作用，在次级代谢物 (SM) 生物合成通路中形成调控网络。经验证的相互作用可以更好地反映 miRNA 的真实调控机制，并将 miRNA 转化为更有效的工具来控制珍贵 SM 的产生。然而，没有关于这个主题的系统评价，特别是在植物，特别是模式植物和作物方面。在这里，我们首先概述了植物中关键的次生代谢途径，特别是那些与生物合成途径相关的结构基因，这些基因被充分研究和具有代表性的SMs，包括苯丙烷类、萜类、生物碱。主要地，我们总结了过去十年中参与 SM、miRNA 靶模块的生物合成的 miRNA 及其对上述途径的调节。值得注意的是，这些模块包括通过目标验证或功能确认进行的 miRNA-结构基因、miRNA-TF、miRNA-ncRNA 相互作用对。这些知识将促进对复杂的 miRNA 介导的 SM 生物合成基因调控网络的理解，并推动合成生物学的发展。过去十年中 miRNA 靶标模块及其对上述途径的调控。值得注意的是，这些模块包括通过目标验证或功能确认进行的 miRNA-结构基因、miRNA-TF、miRNA-ncRNA 相互作用对。这些知识将促进对复杂的 miRNA 介导的 SM 生物合成基因调控网络的理解，并推动合成生物学的发展。过去十年中 miRNA 靶标模块及其对上述途径的调控。值得注意的是，这些模块包括通过目标验证或功能确认进行的 miRNA-结构基因、miRNA-TF、miRNA-ncRNA 相互作用对。这些知识将促进对复杂的 miRNA 介导的 SM 生物合成基因调控网络的理解，并推动合成生物学的发展。