MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression in various ways. In a canonical way, miRNAs work in the cytoplasm, guiding their effector partners, the Argonaute proteins, to silence transcripts with sequence complementarity by mRNA cleavage or translation resting. Plant miRNAs can also direct the cleavage of primary targets, resulting in phased secondary small interfering RNAs. MicroRNAs can be found in the nucleus in a non-canonical way, where they control gene expression by targeting promoters/enhancers or transposable elements. MicroRNAs are also found in the nucleus, where they target enhancers and promoters to activate gene expression. Plant miRNAs regulate plant development and response to environmental stresses by controlling the expression levels and activities of a variety of downstream genes. Even though a large number of plant miRNAs have been identified and linked to various cellular processes, our understanding of miRNA functions and how they help shape the phenome is still limited.

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.

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Frontiers in Plant Science

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