Table 1.
The functional involvement of conserved miRNAs in cereal-, legume-, and tuber-crops.
| Plant species | miRNA | Target genes | Functional involvement | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEREAL CROPS | ||||
| Rice (Oryza sativa) | miR393 | Auxin receptor gene (TIR1 and AFB2) | Drought response | Zhou L. et al., 2010 |
| High tillering and early flowering | Jiao et al., 2010 | |||
| Xia et al., 2012 | ||||
| miR820 | DRM2 | Response to salt, high temperature | Sharma et al., 2015a | |
| miR167 | ARF transcription factors | Cold-stress | Jeong et al., 2011 | |
| miR397 | L-ascorbate oxidase | Heat stress response and adaptation | Jeong et al., 2011 | |
| Maize (Zea mays) | miR156 | Squamosa binding protein | Li et al., 2012 | |
| miR160 | ARF transcription factors | Development | Gu et al., 2013 | |
| miR164 | NAC1 (NAM, ATAF, CUC) - transcription factors | Endosperm development Ear development | Ding et al., 2013 | |
| miR167 | ARF transcription factors | Stress response | Sheng et al., 2015 | |
| miR396 | Growth factor | |||
| miR169 | NF-YA transcription factors | Drought stress reponse | Sheng et al., 2015 | |
| Wheat (Triticum aestivum) | miR397, miR437 | L-ascorbate oxidase | Development | |
| miR395 | ATP sulfurylase genes | Abiotic stress | Han et al., 2013 | |
| miR1435/miR51812 | Ion transportation | |||
| Barley (Hordeum vulgare) | miR156d | Squamosa binding protein | Development, drought stress | Curaba et al., 2012 |
| miR396d | Growth factor | Seed development | Shuzuo et al., 2012 | |
| Cell differentiation | ||||
| miR399b | Phosphatase transporter | Drought stress response | ||
| miR164 | ARF transcription factors | Lateral root and leaf development | Deng et al., 2015 | |
| LEGUME CROPS | ||||
| Soybean (Glycine max) | miR156, miR160 | Squamosa binding protein | ||
| miR164, miR166 | ARF transcription factors | Seed development | Song et al., 2011 | |
| miR172, miR396 | Growth factor | |||
| Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) | miR160 miR166 | Drought stress | ||
| miR159 miR167 | ARF transcription factors | Enhanced drought tolerance | Barrera-Figueroa et al., 2011 | |
| miR169 miR319 | Growth factor | Metabolic pathways of physiological changes associated with drought stress | Shui et al., 2013 | |
| miR390, miR393 | ||||
| miR396, miR403 | ||||
| miR156b,f | Multicystatin gene | Protein degradation/ drought stress/ keep cellular proteins | Shui et al., 2013 | |
| Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) | miR156 | Squamosa binding protein | Peanut growth and development | Chi et al., 2011 |
| miR159, miR171 | Lipid and protein accumulation | Zhao et al., 2010 | ||
| miR159, miR396 | Auxin response factors, | |||
| miR156, miR157 | Lipid transfer protein, MYB TF, RLKs | Disease resistance | Zhao et al., 2015 | |
| miR169, miR166 | ||||
| TUBER CROPS | ||||
| Potato (Solanum tuberosum) | miR160 | Auxin response factors | Growth and development | |
| miR172 | Starch accumulation | |||
| miR473 | Serine/threonine kinase-like | Metabolism | Din et al., 2014 | |
| miR475 | Thioredoxin | Metabolism | ||
| Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) | miR156, miR162 | Squamosa binding protein transcription factors | Storage root initiation and development | |
| miR167 | ARF transcription factors | Stamen development | ||
| miR160, miR164, miR166, miR398 | ARF, NAC1 transcription factors | Fibrous root and storage root development | Sun R. et al., 2015 | |
| Cassava (Manihot esculenta) | miR156, miR157, miR159, miR160 | Transcription factors | Development stress response | Patanun et al., 2013 |
| miR164 | NAC transcription factors | Drought tolerance | ||
| miR395, miR172, miR319, miR396 miR397 | Transcription factors, Growth factor | Starch biosynthesis/metabolism | Chen et al., 2015 | |
| miR414, miR473 | Stress response | Patanun et al., 2013 | ||