Elsevier, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 3(447), p. 526-530, 2014
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2014.04.036
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MicroRNAs act at the post-transcriptional level and guide Argonaute proteins to cleave their corresponding target transcripts. However, little attention has been paid to arm selection in miRNA precursors. In this study, small RNA high-throughput sequencing data from 29 different rice libraries were pooled to investigate tissue- and abiotic stress-specific dynamic expression of miRNAs. We found that more than half of pre-miRNAs showed changes in arm selection in different tissues and/or under different abiotic stresses. Our findings suggest that miRNA selection is remarkably prevalent in plants, providing new insights into the role of miRNAs in plant growth and development.