MicroRNAs play regulatory roles in genomic balance

Classic genetics studies found that genomic imbalance caused by changing the dosage of part of the genome (aneuploidy) has more detrimental effects than altering the dosage of the whole genome (ploidy). Previous analysis revealed global modulation of gene expression triggered by aneuploidy across various species, including maize (Zea mays), Arabidopsis, yeast, mammals, etc. Plant microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of 20- to 24-nt endogenous small noncoding RNAs that carry out post-transcriptional gene expression regulation. That miRNAs and their putative targets are preferentially retained as duplicates after whole-genome duplication, as are many transcription factors and signaling components, indicates miRNAs are likely to be dosage-sensitive and potentially involved in genomic balance networks. This review addresses the following questions regarding the role of miRNAs in genomic imbalance. (1) How do aneuploidy and polyploidy impact the expression of miRNAs? (2) Do miRNAs play a regulatory role in modulating the expression of their targets under genomic imbalance?