Natural variation of the MIR168a promoter influences its activity and miR168a abundance in rice.

ABSTRACT: miR168a, a plant-specific microRNA (miRNA) derived from the MIR168a gene, plays a pivotal role in modulating rice blast disease resistance and critical agronomic traits such as flowering time and yield. However, the regulatory mechanisms governing the MIR168a promoter remain poorly understood. This study identified a 1661 bp upstream fragment of the mature miR168a as highly active in promoter function. Sequence alignments revealed substantial variation in MIR168 promoters across plant species. Analysis of over 4000 rice accessions showed that while the MIR168a promoter exhibited abundant SNPs and InDels, miR168a itself had no such polymorphisms. Based on promoter polymorphisms, the MIR168a promoter was classified into three haplotypes, with Hap2 and Hap3 showing higher activity than Hap1.

SUBMITTER: Zhao ZX 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12495017 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature