Spatiotemporal regulation of target mRNA cleavage by 21-nt phasiRNAs in maize anthers
21-nt phasiRNAs are abundantly expressed in anthers and play crucial roles in anther development and male reproduction in grasses. In maize, the target genes that 21-nt phasiRNAs regulate remain largely unknown. Here, we show that 21-nt phasiRNAs direct the cleavage of hundreds of target mRNAs in maize. Interestingly, while 21-nt phasiRNAs in anthers (somatic anther wall cells) do not have obvious preference for a particular nucleotide at the 5' end and target genes implicated in stress response and cellular homeostasis, 21-nt phasiRNAs in male germ cells preferentially initiate with 5' C and target genes related to meiotic processes in a ZmAGO5c-dependent manner. Our results indicate that mRNA cleavage is a conserved mechanism used by 21-nt phasiRNAs for gene regulation in grasses. However, the sequences of 21-nt phasiRNAs and their targets show little conservation in maize and rice, suggesting that <i>21PHAS</i> loci and 21-nt phasiRNA targets have undergone fast divergence in grasses.
Authors
- Tianxiao Huang
- Wei Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6943-5892)
- Yijun Qi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7100-1700)
- Weiwei Jin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9320-9628)
- Pengfei Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6054-3099)
- Bi Lian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4171-0186)
Institutions
- Anhui Agricultural University (CN)
- Peking University (CN)
- Center for Life Sciences (CN)
- China Agricultural University (CN)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2025-06-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2422647122
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.25
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China