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Updated: Nov 4, 2025

mirMachine: A One-Stop Shop for Plant miRNA Annotation
Published on: May 1, 2021
An overview on miRNA-encoded peptides in plant biology research
Ankita Yadav1, Indraneel Sanyal2, Shashi Pandey Rai3
1CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, India; Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India.
Abstract:
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (21-23 nt) regulatory RNA molecules present in plants and animals which are known for regulating the mRNA target gene expression either by cleavage or translational repression. With the advancements in miRNAs research in plants towards their biogenesis and applications has directed the recent discovery of pri-miRNAs encoding functional peptides or microRNA peptides (miPEPs). These miPEPs are encoded by 5' of pri-miRs containing short ORFs (miORFs). miPEPs are known to enhance the activity of their associated miRNAs by increasing their accumulation and hence downregulating the target genes. Since miPEPs are very specific for each miRNA, they are considered as novel and effective tools for improving traits of interest for plant growth promotion and plant-microbe interaction. Entire peptidome research is the need of the hour. This review thus summarizes recent advancements in miPEP research and its applications as a technology with important agronomical implications with miRNAs augmentation.
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