MicroRNAs sculpt gene expression in embryonic development: new insights from plants.

摘要

Zygotic microRNAs coordinate the clearance of maternal mRNA in animals to facilitate developmental transitions. In a recent issue of Genes and Development, Nodine and Bartel (2010) uncover a reciprocal function in plants, where miRNA-156 preemptively represses genes that function later in development to prevent premature developmental transitions.