The potential roles of microRNAs in molecular breeding.
microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small, endogenous, noncoding RNAs, are uncovered to play greatly expanded roles in a variety of plant developmental processes by gene silencing through inhibiting translation or promoting the degradation of target mRNAs. In virtue of their ability to inactivate either specific genes or entire gene families, artificial miRNAs function as dominant suppressors of gene activity when brought into a plant. Moreover, artificial target mimics are applied for the reduction of specific miRNA activity. Consequently, miRNA-based manipulations have emerged as promising new approaches for the improvement of crop plants. This action includes the development of breeding strategies and the genetic modification of agronomic traits. Herein, we describe the current miRNA-based plant engineering approaches, and their advantages and challenges are also stated.