Osa-miR1320 targets the ERF transcription factor OsERF096 to regulate cold tolerance via JA-mediated signaling

MicroRNAs play key roles in abiotic stress response. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) miR1320 is a species-specific miRNA that contributes to miR168-regulated immunity. However, it is still unknown whether miR1320 is involved in rice response to abiotic stress. In this study, we illustrated that the miR1320 precursor generated two mature miR1320s, miR1320-3p, and miR1320-5p, and they both displayed decreased expression under cold stress. Genetic evidence showed that miR1320 overexpression resulted in increased cold tolerance, while miR1320 knock down (KD) reduced cold tolerance. Furthermore, an APETALA2/ethylene-responsive factor (ERF) transcription factor OsERF096 was identified as a target of miR1320 via 5'-RACE and dual luciferase assays. OsERF096 expression was altered by miR1320 overexpression and KD and exhibited an opposite pattern to that of miR1320 in different tissues and under cold stress. Consistently, OsERF096 negatively regulated cold stress tolerance. Furthermore, we suggested that OsERF096 could bind to the GCC and DRE cis-elements and act as a transcriptional activator in the nucleus. Based on RNA-sequencing and targeted metabolomics assays, we found that OsERF096 modified hormone content and signaling pathways. Finally, phenotypic and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR assays showed that jasmonic acid (JA) methyl ester application recovered the cold-sensitive phenotype and JA-activated expression of three Dehydration Responsive Element Binding genes in the OsERF096-OE line. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that the miR1320-OsERF096 module regulates cold tolerance by repressing the JA-mediated cold signaling pathway.