Long non-coding RNAs: emerging players regulating plant abiotic stress response and adaptation
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Long non-coding RNAs: emerging players regulating plant abiotic stress response and adaptation Uday Chand Jha1*, Harsh Nayyar2, Rintu Jha3, Muhammad Khurshid3,4, Meiliang Zhou3, Nitin Mantri5 and Kadambot H. M. Siddique6*
Abstract Background: The immobile nature of plants means that they can be frequently confronted by various biotic and abiotic stresses during their lifecycle. Among the various abiotic stresses, water stress, temperature extremities, salinity, and heavy metal toxicity are the major abiotic stresses challenging overall plant growth. Plants have evolved complex molecular mechanisms to adapt under the given abiotic stresses. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)—a diverse class of RNAs that contain > 200 nucleotides(nt)—play an essential role in plant adaptation to various abiotic stresses. Results: LncRNAs play a significant role as ‘biological regulators’ for various developmental processes and biotic and abiotic stress responses in animals and plants at the transcription, post-transcription, and epigenetic level, targeting various stress-responsive mRNAs, regulatory gene(s) encoding transcription factors, and numerous microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate the expression of different genes. However, the mechanistic role of lncRNAs at the molecular level, and possible target gene(s) contributing to plant abiotic stress response and adaptation, remain largely unknown. Here, we review various types of lncRNAs found in different plant species, with a focus on understanding the complex molecular mechanisms that contribute to abiotic stress tolerance in plants. We start by discussing the biogenesis, type and function, phylogenetic relationships, and sequence conservation of lncRNAs. Next, we review the role of lncRNAs controlling various abiotic stresses, including drought, heat, cold, heavy metal toxicity, and nutrient deficiency, with relevant examples from various plant species. Lastly, we briefly discuss the various lncRNA databases and the role of bioinformatics for predicting the structural and functional annotation of novel lncRNAs. Conclusions: Understanding the intricate molecular mechanisms of stress-responsive lncRNAs is in its infancy. The availability of a comprehensive atlas of lncRNAs across whole genomes in crop plants, coupled with a comprehensive understanding of the complex molecular mechanisms that regulate various abiotic stress responses, will enable us to use lncRNAs as potential biomarkers for tailoring abiotic stress-tolerant plants in the future. Keywords: Abiotic stresses, Long non-coding RNAs, Gene regulation, Target mimicry
* Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] 1 ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur 208024, India 6 The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits
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