About this Research Topic
The goal of this Research Topic is to present new and important findings on the roles of miRNAs in plant growth, metabolism, and environmental responses, as well as other biological processes. Studies aimed at elucidating the regulatory functions and mechanisms of miRNAs in agriculturally important traits, as well as comparative genomic studies tracing the evolutionary changes of miRNA-target circuits that provide functional insight, are particularly encouraged. It is our hope that this Research Topic will not only update our understandings of the important roles that miRNAs play in biology, but also provide new ideas for applying what we have learned about the regulatory function and mechanism of plant miRNAs to agricultural production.
We welcome submissions of different types of manuscripts including original research papers, reviews, and methods, including but not limited to:
• Functional characterization of plant miRNAs: analysis of the developmental consequences and/or sensitivity to environmental challenges following genetic manipulations of the miRNA loci.
• Mechanisms of plant miRNA action: elucidation of the molecular mechanisms by which a given miRNA modulates the expression of target genes.
• Functional divergence of the plant miRNA family: molecular and/or genetic studies to investigate functional divergence of different members within a miRNA family in a plant species or between plant species.
• Spatiotemporal expression patterns of plant miRNAs: live-cell imaging of miRNA distribution patterns or mechanistic elucidation of key cis-regulatory elements and/or trans-acting factors that control miRNA expression.
• Evolutionary changes of miRNA-target circuits: comparative genomic analysis of the evolutionary trajectory and functional implications of proven miRNA-target circuits among phylogenetically representative plant lineages.
Disclaimer: We welcome submissions of different types of related manuscripts, but pure descriptive studies that only report in silico identification of miRNAs, expression patterns of miRNAs, or prediction and confirmation of miRNA-target interactions lacking significant biological advances would be rejected without peer review.
Keywords: microRNA, adaption, stress response, plant development, plant architecture, comparative genomics, functional selection, crop yield
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.