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Review

MicroRNAs in Medicinal Plants

1
Crops Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
2
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
3
Guangdong Provincial Engineering and Technology Research Center for Conservation and Utilization of the Genuine Southern Medicinal Resources, Guangzhou 510640, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(18), 10477; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231810477
Submission received: 11 August 2022 / Revised: 6 September 2022 / Accepted: 7 September 2022 / Published: 9 September 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The World of Plant Non-coding RNAs)

Abstract

Medicinal plant microRNAs (miRNAs) are an endogenous class of small RNA central to the posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. Biosynthetic research has shown that the mature miRNAs in medicinal plants can be produced from either the standard messenger RNA splicing mechanism or the pre-ribosomal RNA splicing process. The medicinal plant miRNA function is separated into two levels: (1) the cross-kingdom level, which is the regulation of disease-related genes in animal cells by oral intake, and (2) the intra-kingdom level, which is the participation of metabolism, development, and stress adaptation in homologous or heterologous plants. Increasing research continues to enrich the biosynthesis and function of medicinal plant miRNAs. In this review, peer-reviewed papers on medicinal plant miRNAs published on the Web of Science were discussed, covering a total of 78 species. The feasibility of the emerging role of medicinal plant miRNAs in regulating animal gene function was critically evaluated. Staged progress in intra-kingdom miRNA research has only been found in a few medicinal plants, which may be mainly inhibited by their long growth cycle, high demand for growth environment, immature genetic transformation, and difficult RNA extraction. The present review clarifies the research significance, opportunities, and challenges of medicinal plant miRNAs in drug development and agricultural production. The discussion of the latest results furthers the understanding of medicinal plant miRNAs and helps the rational design of the corresponding miRNA/target genes functional modules.
Keywords: medicinal plant; miRNA; synthesis pathway; biological function medicinal plant; miRNA; synthesis pathway; biological function

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Sun, M.; Xu, S.; Mei, Y.; Li, J.; Gu, Y.; Zhang, W.; Wang, J. MicroRNAs in Medicinal Plants. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23, 10477. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231810477

AMA Style

Sun M, Xu S, Mei Y, Li J, Gu Y, Zhang W, Wang J. MicroRNAs in Medicinal Plants. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022; 23(18):10477. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231810477

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sun, Mingyang, Shiqiang Xu, Yu Mei, Jingyu Li, Yan Gu, Wenting Zhang, and Jihua Wang. 2022. "MicroRNAs in Medicinal Plants" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23, no. 18: 10477. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231810477

APA Style

Sun, M., Xu, S., Mei, Y., Li, J., Gu, Y., Zhang, W., & Wang, J. (2022). MicroRNAs in Medicinal Plants. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(18), 10477. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231810477

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