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Regulation of Flowering Time by MicroRNAs

By Chuan-miao Zhou, Jia-wei Wang in review

May 20, 2013

Full PDF link Summary The shoot apical meristem (SAM) continuously produces lateral organs in plants. Based on the identity of the lateral organs, the life cycle of a plant can be divided into two phases: vegetative and reproductive. The SAM produces leaves during the vegetative phase, whereas it gives rise to flowers in the reproductive phase (reviewed in Poethig, 2003). The floral transition, namely the switch from vegetative to reproductive growth, is controlled by diverse endogenous and exogenous cues such as age, hormones, photoperiod, and temperature (reviewed in Bäurle and Dean, 2006; Srikanth and Schmid, 2011; Andres and Coupland, 2012).

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Sugar is an endogenous cue for juvenile-to-adult phase transition in plants

By Sha Yu, Chuan-miao Zhou in developmental

March 26, 2013

Full PDF link Abstract The transition from the juvenile to adult phase in plants is controlled by diverse exogenous and endogenous cues such as age, day length, light, nutrients, and temperature. Previous studies have shown that the gradual decline in microRNA156 (miR156) with age promotes the expression of adult traits. However, how age temporally regulates the abundance of miR156 is poorly understood. We show here that the expression of miR156 responds to sugar.

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Gibberellin Regulates Arabidopsis Floral Transition through miR156-Targeted SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING-LIKE Transcription Factors

By Sha Yu, Yan-chun Zhang in developmental

August 24, 2012

Full PDF link ABSTRACT Gibberellin (GA), a diterpene hormone, plays diverse roles in plant growth and development, including seed germination, stem elongation, and flowering time. Although it is known that GA accelerates flowering through degradation of transcription repressors, DELLAs, the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. We show here that DELLA directly binds to microRNA156 (miR156)-targeted SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING–LIKE (SPL) transcription factors, which promote flowering by activating miR172 and MADS box genes.

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MIGS: miRNA induced gene silencing

By Felipe Fenselau de Felippes, Jia‐wei Wang in miRNA

December 28, 2011

Full PDF link Summary Gene silencing is an important tool in the study of gene function. Virus‐induced gene silencing (VIGS) and hairpin RNA interference (hpRNAi), both of which rely on small interfering RNAs, together with artificial microRNAs (amiRNA), are amongst the most popular methods for reduction of gene activity in plants. However, all three approaches have limitations. Here, we introduce miRNA‐induced gene silencing (MIGS). This method exploits a special 22‐nucleotide miRNA of Arabidopsis thaliana, miR173, which can trigger production of another class of small RNAs called trans‐acting small interfering RNAs (tasiRNAs).

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MiRNA Control of Vegetative Phase Change in Trees

By Jia-wei Wang in miRNA

February 24, 2011

Full PDF link Abstract After germination, plants enter juvenile vegetative phase and then transition to an adult vegetative phase before producing reproductive structures. The character and timing of the juvenile-to-adult transition vary widely between species. In annual plants, this transition occurs soon after germination and usually involves relatively minor morphological changes, whereas in trees and other perennial woody plants it occurs after months or years and can involve major changes in shoot architecture.

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