miRNA-Regulated Transcription Factor Networks in Response to Osmotic Stress

Plants resort to molecular reprogramming to combat osmotic stresses such as salinity and drought, during which expression of multiple genes is altered at the same time. The discovery of miRNAs, as a novel class of regulatory factors, has shed new light on the cellular mechanisms that define the functional domains of the transcription factors (TFs) and other gene products. In past few decades, a large number of stress-regulated plant miRNAs have been discovered, each performing complex multi-targeted regulation. In this context, studies on miRNA-mediated regulation of plant development have provided critical evidence for multi-layered control of the TFs for maintaining normal growth and development in adaptation to abiotic stresses. This chapter describes the regulation of TFs by miRNAs to understand the developmental networks operating in the plants in response to abiotic stresses.