A Resource for Inactivation of MicroRNAs Using Short Tandem Target Mimic Technology in Model and Crop Plants

microRNAs (miRNAs)are endogenous small non-coding RNAs that bind to mRNAs and target them for cleavage and/or translational repression,leading to gene silencing.We previously developed short tandem target mimic (STTM)technology to deactivate endogenous miRNAs in Arabidopsis.Here,we created hundreds of STTMs that target both conserved and species-specific miRNAs in Arabidopsis,tomato,rice,and maize,providing a resource for the functional interrogation of miRNAs.We not only revealed the functions of several miRNAs in plant development,but also demonstrated that tissue-specific inactivation of a few miRNAs in rice leads to an increase in grain size without adversely affecting overall plant growth and development.RNA-seq and small RNAseq analyses of STTM156/157 and STTM165/166 transgenic plants revealed the roles of these miRNAs in plant hormone biosynthesis and activation,secondary metabolism,and ion-channel activity-associated electrophysiology,demonstrating that STTM technology is an effective approach for studying miRNA functions.To facilitate the study and application of STTM transgenic plants and to provide a useful platform for storing and sharing of information about miRNA-regulated gene networks,we have established an online Genome Browser (https://blossom.ffr.mtu.edu/designindex2.php) to display the transcriptomic and miRNAomic changes in STTMinduced miRNA knockdown plants.

TGMin： A global-minimum structure search program based on a constrained basin-hopping algorithm

In this article, we introduce Tsinghua Global Minimum （TGMin） as a new program for the global minimum searching of geometric structures of gas-phase or surface-supported atomic clusters, and the constrained basin-hopping （BH） algorithm implemented in this program. To improve the efficiency of the BH algorithm, several types of constraints are introduced to reduce the vast search space, including constraints on the random displacement step size, displacement of low-coordination atoms, and geometrical structure adjustment after displacement. The ultrafast shape-recognition （USR） algorithm and its variants are implemented to identify duplicate structures during the global minimum search. In addition to the Metropolis acceptance criterion, we also implemented a morphology-based constraint that confines the global minimum search to a specific type of morphology, such as planar or non-planar structures, which offers a strict divide-and-conquer strategy for the BH algorithm. These improvements are implemented in the TGMin program, which was developed over the past decade and has been used in a number of publications. We tested our TGMin program on global minimum structural searches for a number of metal and main-group clusters including C60, Au20 and B20 clusters. Over the past five years, the TGMin program has been used to determine the global minimum structures of a series of boron atomic clusters （such as [B26]^-, [B28]^-, [B30]^-, [B35]^-, [B36]^-, [B39]^-, [B40]^-, [MnB16]^-, [COB18]^-, [RhB18]^-, and [TaB20]^-）, metal-containing clusters Lin （n = 3-20）, Aug（CO）8^＋ and [Cr6O19]^2-. and the oxide-supported metal catalyst Au7/γ-Al2O3, as well as other isolated and surface-supported atomic clusters. In this article we present the major features of TGMin program and show that it is highly efficient at searching for global-minimum structures of atomic clusters in the gas phase and on various surface supports.

The miR167-OsARF12 module regulates rice grain filling and grain size downstream of miR159

Grain weight and quality are always determined by grain filling.Plant microRNAs have drawn attention as key targets for regulation of grain size and yield.However,the mechanisms that underlie grain size regulation remain largely unclear because of the complex networks that control this trait.Our earlier studies demonstrated that suppressed expression of miR167(STTM/MIM167)substantially increased grain weight.In a field test,the yield increased up to 12.90%-21.94% because of a significantly enhanced grain filling rate.Here,biochemical and genetic analyses revealed the regulatory effects of miR159 on miR167 expression.Further analysis indicated that OsARF12 is the major mediator by which miR167 regulates rice grain filling.Overexpression of OsARF12 produced grain weight and grain filling phenotypes resembling those of STTM/MIM167 plants.Upon in-depth analysis,we found that OsARF12 activates OsCDKF;2 expression by directly binding to the TGTCGG motif in its promoter region.Flow cytometry analysis of young panicles from OsARF12-overexpressing plants and examination of cell number in cdkf;2 mutants verified that OsARF12 positively regulates grain filling and grain size by targeting OsCDKF;2.Moreover,RNA sequencing results suggested that the miR167-OsARF12 module is involved in the cell development process and hormone pathways.OsARF12-overexpressing plants and cdkf;2 mutants exhibited enhanced and reduced sensitivity to exogenous auxin and brassinosteroid(BR)treatment,confirming that targeting of OsCDKF;2 by OsARF12 mediates auxin and BR signaling.Our results reveal that the miR167-OsARF12 module works downstream of miR159 to regulate rice grain filling and grain size via OsCDKF;2 by controlling cell division and mediating auxin and BR signals.