Unveiling the biosynthesis, mechanisms, and impacts of miRNAs in drought stress resilience in plants

• Published in: Plant physiology and biochemistry Vol. 202; p. 107978
• Main Authors: Riyazuddin, Riyazuddin, Singh, Kalpita, Iqbal, Nadeem, Labhane, Nitin, Ramteke, Pramod, Singh, Vijay Pratap, Gupta, Ravi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Masson SAS 01.09.2023
• Subjects: Antioxidants; Breeding: LncRNA; Drought stress; Hormone signaling; miRNAs; ROS; Antioxidants; Drought stress; miRNAs; Breeding: LncRNA; ROS; Hormone signaling
• ISSN: 0981-9428; 1873-2690
• DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.107978

Drought stress is one of the most serious threats to sustainable agriculture and is predicted to be further intensified in the coming decades. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of drought stress tolerance and the development of drought-resilient crops are the major goals at present. In recent years, noncoding microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key regulators of gene expressions under drought stress conditions and are turning out to be the potential candidates that can be targeted to develop drought-resilient crops in the future. miRNAs are known to target and decrease the expression of various genes to govern the drought stress response in plants. In addition, emerging evidence also suggests a regulatory role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the regulation of miRNAs and the expression of their target genes by a process referred as miRNA sponging. In this review, we present the regulatory roles of miRNAs in the modulation of drought-responsive genes along with discussing their biosynthesis and action mechanisms. Additionally, the interactive roles of miRNAs with phytohormone signaling components have also been highlighted to present the global view of miRNA functioning under drought-stress conditions. •miRNAs function as key regulators of drought stress response in plants.•Drought-induced ROS is detoxified by miRNAs-mediated activation of antioxidants.•miRNAs target drought-responsive genes to modulate hormonal signaling pathways.•miRNAs trigger the accumulation of osmolytes and secondary metabolites under drought.•Transgenic plants expressing miRNAs exhibit enhanced drought stress tolerance.