Scientists have discovered the role of miR169 in regulating the development and stress responses of perennial grasses. Their findings may help develop crop varieties with desired traits in the agricultural industry.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have a crucial role in plant-environment interactions by changing gene expression profiles to enhance environmental adaptations. MicroRNA169 (miRNA169) has been suggested to play a part in the multi-stress regulation of annual species, such as rice and maize. However, there is limited research on its impact on the growth and development of perennial species.

Researchers from Clemson University used short tandem target mimicry (MIM) to produce transgenic creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera). The results showed that elevated levels of miR169 negatively affect growth and biomass production. However, it improves the plant's resistance to drought and salt stress. miR169 also affects the expression levels of hormone regulators, stress-regulating transcription factors, antioxidant scavengers, and membrane-transporting components. Their findings would enable the production of biotechnology methods to fine-tune miR169 expression to get crop traits necessary for agricultural operation demands.

Read the article on Plant Biotechnology Journal for more information.

See https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=20815