Figure 1. Schematic representation of miRNA biogenesis plants. The primary miRNA transcript is processed by Dicer-like 1 (DCL1) and is associated RNA-binding cofactors HYL1 and SE to generate a miRNA, which is then methylated, exported to the cytoplasm and incorporated into the Agonaute 1 (AGO1)-containing RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) to silence mRNA targets important for development, diseases, and stress responses.