Non-coding RNA-Mediated Signaling Pathways in Abiotic Stress Tolerance
摘要
Abiotic stresses including drought, salinity, temperature, and nutritional deficiencies are some of the serious threats to crop yield all over the world. Plants have developed complex molecular cascades of signaling to combat these stresses at developmental and physiological levels. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) such as microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are some of the key regulators of such cascades. Although they do not code for proteins, ncRNAs play regulatory roles in gene expression at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and epigenetic levels to modulate plant stress perception, signaling, and adaptation. Here in this chapter, we discuss the critical roles of ncRNAs in the regulation of abiotic stress signaling in plants. It discusses how certain ncRNAs are targeting stress-responsive genes and modulating key pathways, notably those of abscisic acid (ABA), in the regulation of antioxidant responses, osmotic adjustment, and growth under stress. The chapter also highlights the functional coordination between various classes of ncRNAs and their integration within complex regulatory networks. Through the use of high-throughput sequencing and functional genomics, many stress-responsive ncRNAs have been identified and characterized in plant species. This widened knowledge database provides tremendous potential for molecular breeding and genetic engineering for developing stress tolerance and resilience in crops in a climate change context.