Sucrose induction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis> miR398 represses two Cu/Zn superoxide dismutases

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are approximately 21-nt RNAs that reduce target accumulation through mRNA cleavage or translational repression. Arabidopsis miR398 regulates mRNAs encoding two copper superoxide dismutase (CSD) enzymes and a cytochrome c oxidase subunit. miR398 itself is down-regulated in response to copper and stress. Here we show that miR398 is positively regulated by sucrose, resulting in decreased CSD1 and CSD2 mRNA and protein accumulation. This sucrose regulation is maintained both in the presence and absence of physiologically relevant levels of supplemental copper. Additionally, we show that plants expressing CSD1 and CSD2 mRNAs with altered miR398 complementarity sites display increased mRNA accumulation, whereas CSD1 and CSD2 protein accumulation remain sensitive to miR398 levels, suggesting that miR398 can act as a translational repressor when target site complementarity is reduced. These results reveal a novel miR398 regulatory mechanism and demonstrate that plant miRNA targets can resist miRNA regulation at the mRNA level while maintaining sensitivity at the level of protein accumulation. Our results suggest that even in plants, where miRNAs are thought to act primarily through target mRNA cleavage, monitoring target protein levels along with target mRNA levels is necessary to fully assess the consequences of disrupted miRNA-mRNA pairing. Moreover, the limited complementarity required to maintain robust miR398-directed repression of target protein accumulation suggests that similarly regulated endogenous plant miRNA targets may have eluded detection.     

Biotic and abiotic stress down-regulate miR398 expression in Arabidopsis

MicroRNA398 targets two Cu/Zn superoxide dismutases (CSD1 and CSD2) in higher plants. Previous investigations revealed both decreased miR398 expression during high Cu²⁺ or paraquat stress and increased expression under low Cu²⁺ or high sucrose in the growth medium. Here, we show that additional abiotic stresses such as ozone and salinity also affect miR398 levels. Ozone fumigation decreased miR398 levels that were gradually restored to normal levels after relieved from the stress. Furthermore, miR398 levels decreased in Arabidopsis leaves infiltrated with avirulent strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, Pst DC3000 (avrRpm1 or avrRpt2) but not the virulent strain Pst DC3000. To our knowledge, miR398 is the first miRNA shown to be down-regulated in response to biotic stress (P. syringae). CSD1, but not CSD2, mRNA levels were negatively correlated with miR398 levels during ozone, salinity and biotic stress, suggesting that CSD2 regulation is not strictly under miR398 control during diverse stresses. Overall, this study further establishes a link between oxidative stress and miR398 in Arabidopsis.     

A non-canonical plant microRNA target site

Plant microRNAs (miRNAs) typically form near-perfect duplexes with their targets and mediate mRNA cleavage. Here, we describe an unconventional miRNA target of miR398 in Arabidopsis, an mRNA encoding the blue copper-binding protein (BCBP). BCBP mRNA carries an miR398 complementary site in its 5′-untranslated region (UTR) with a bulge of six nucleotides opposite to the 5′ region of the miRNA. Despite the disruption of a target site region thought to be especially critical for function, BCBP mRNAs are cleaved by ARGONAUTE1 between nucleotides 10th and 11th, opposite to the miRNA, like conventional plant target sites. Levels of BCBP mRNAs are inversely correlated to levels of miR398 in mutants lacking the miRNA, or transgenic plants overexpressing it. Introducing two mutations that disrupt the miRNA complementarity around the cleavage site renders the target cleavage-resistant. The BCBP site functions outside of the context of the BCBP mRNA and does not depend on 5′-UTR location. Reducing the bulge does not interfere with miR398-mediated regulation and completely removing it increases the efficiency of the slicing. Analysis of degradome data and target predictions revealed that the miR398-BCBP interaction seems to be rather unique. Nevertheless, our results imply that functional target sites with non-perfect pairings in the 5′ region of an ancient conserved miRNA exist in plants.     

响应盐胁迫调控的露地菊miR398a的克隆及功能研究

miRNAs在非生物胁迫中起着重要的作用。通过前期对露地菊Small RNA高通量测序数据测得到miR398a成熟体和前体序列,命名为cgr-miR398a和cgr-MIR398a。序列对比显示,cgr-miR398a与其他植物中已经鉴定的miR398a序列高度保守;利用前期露地菊降解组数据获得miR398a预测的靶基因,cgr-miR398a根和叶中的靶基因共有18个,其中有铜/锌超氧化物歧化酶（CSD2）、铜伴侣蛋白（CCS）、类A20/AN1-l锌指家族蛋白（SAP8）等与抗性相关的基因。qPCR结果显示盐胁迫下露地菊miR398a及靶基因在不同组织部位的表达水平存在显著的负相关性。为探究cgr-miR398a响应盐胁迫的功能,克隆cgr-MIR398a并构建过表达载体转化拟南芥。结果表明,拟南芥中过表达cgr-MIR398a降低了盐胁迫下种子发芽率以及成苗期的抗盐性,说明cgr-miR398a在拟南芥响应盐胁迫中起着负调控作用。这为进一步研究露地菊mi398a的功能和露地菊的抗盐机理奠定了基础。