Plants under toxic element stress: microRNA-mediated regulatory pathways and emerging perspectives

Area of Science:

• Plant Biology
• Molecular Biology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Metal/metalloid pollution poses a significant threat to crop sustainability, impacting growth and yield through toxic element acquisition.
• Toxic elements induce oxidative stress and disrupt water relations in plants, necessitating robust tolerance mechanisms.
• MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs, play a critical role in regulating gene expression and cellular responses to environmental stress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in mediating plant tolerance to toxic elements (TEs).
• To elucidate the mechanisms by which miRNAs regulate signaling pathways and physiological responses to TEs.
• To highlight the importance of miRNA-mediated regulation in plant adaptation to metal/metalloid stress.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent literature on next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and their application in identifying plant miRNAs.
• Analysis of miRNA target genes, including transcription factors, membrane transporters, and signaling molecules.
• Integration of findings on epigenetic alterations and post-translational modifications in TE tolerance.

Main Results:

• NGS has identified numerous miRNAs involved in regulating plant responses to TEs.
• miRNAs modulate post-transcriptional gene silencing, affecting translation and gene expression.
• miRNAs synchronize signaling pathways controlling cellular turgidity, ion trafficking, redox balance, and metal transport.

Conclusions:

• TE-mediated miRNA regulation is a key factor in plant stress tolerance.
• miRNAs coordinate complex physiological responses, including oxidative stress management and signaling.
• Understanding miRNA functions offers potential for developing crops with enhanced tolerance to environmental toxicity.