From molecular basics to agronomic benefits:Insights into noncoding RNA-mediated gene regulation in plantsFA

The development of plants is largely dependent on their growth environment. To better adapt to a particular habitat, plants have evolved various subtle regulatory mechanisms for altering gene expression. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) constitute a major portion of the transcriptomes of eukar-yotes. Various ncRNAs have been recognized as important regulators of the expression of genes involved in essential biological processes throughout the whole life cycles of plants. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the biogenesis and contributions of small nu-cleolar RNA (snoRNA)- and regulatory long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)-mediated gene regulation in plant development and environmental responses. Many regulatory ncRNAs appear to be associated with increased yield, quality and disease resist-ance of various species and cultivars. These ncRNAs may potentially be used as genetic re-sources for improving agronomic traits and for molecular breeding. The challenges in under-standing plant ncRNA biology and the possibilities to make better use of these valuable gene re-sources in the future are discussed in this review.