# MicroRNA156 conditions auxin sensitivity to enable growth plasticity in response to environmental changes in Arabidopsis

Article · Sang Q, Fan L, Liu T, Qiu Y, Du J, Mo B, Chen M, Chen X

- Archive id: doi:10.1038/s41467-023-36774-9
- Published: 2023-03-22
- Venue: Nature communications
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36774-9
- PMID: 36949101
- PMCID: PMC10033679
- Citations: 28
- Source URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36774-9
- PDF: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC10033679/pdf
- Provenance: europepmc

## Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play diverse roles in plant development, but whether and how miRNAs participate in thermomorphogenesis remain ambiguous. Here we show that HYPONASTIC LEAVES 1 (HYL1)-a key component of miRNA biogenesis-acts downstream of the thermal regulator PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 in the temperature-dependent plasticity of hypocotyl growth in Arabidopsis. A hyl1-2 suppressor screen identified a dominant dicer-like1 allele that rescues hyl1-2's defects in miRNA biogenesis and thermoresponsive hypocotyl elongation. Genome-wide miRNA and transcriptome analysis revealed microRNA156 (miR156) and its target SQUAMOSA PROMOTER-BINDING-PROTEIN-LIKE 9 (SPL9) to be critical regulators of thermomorphogenesis. Surprisingly, perturbation of the miR156/SPL9 module disengages seedling responsiveness to warm temperatures by impeding auxin sensitivity. Moreover, miR156-dependent auxin sensitivity also operates in the shade avoidance response at lower temperatures. Thus, these results unveil the miR156/SPL9 module as a previously uncharacterized genetic circuit that enables plant growth plasticity in response to environmental temperature and light changes.

_Abstract reproduced under CC-BY (article license as recorded by Europe PMC; abstract reproduced unmodified apart from markup removal)._

Topics: [Synthetic Biology & Genome Engineering](https://space-kitty.com/topics/synthetic-biology)

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