Biotechnology Bulletin ›› 2015, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (10): 16-23.doi: 10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2015.10.007

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Advances on the Research of Non-cell-autonomous Small RNAs in Plants

Deng Shuai, Zhang Tingting, Wang Ruru, Liu Yu, Zhang Yuanhu   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai&an 271018
  • Received:2015-01-23 Online:2015-10-28 Published:2015-10-28

Abstract: One of the most fascinating features of RNA interference(RNAi)is its ability to transmit and spread from cell to cell. Such non-cell-autonomous silencing effects can also occur between tissues and organisms, in which the mobile small RNAs play a key role. However, the nature of non-cell-autonomous small RNAs is somewhat elusive. Recent studies have implied that small RNAs, including siRNAs and miRNAs, can transmit intercellular messages as transcriptional factors, peptide ligands and plant hormones do, and specifically are involved in a variety of biological processes of regulating developmental patterns, responding environmental stress, enhancing antiviral defense, and maintaining the silence of transposon. In this article we review the recent major research advances on the non-cell-autonomous RNAi, mainly focusing on the varied small RNAs transmitting the silence signals via the pathways of phloem and plasmodesma as well as their biological roles, also their molecular properties and regulation of mobility. Further potential problems and prospects of future researches are discussed .

Key words: RNA interference, silencing effects, non-cell-autonomous, small RNAs, molecular properties, mobility regulation