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Intercellular and systemic trafficking of RNAs in plants

Nature Plants volume 4, pages 869–878 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Plants have evolved dynamic and complex networks of cell-to-cell communication to coordinate and adapt their growth and development to a variety of environmental changes. In addition to small molecules, such as metabolites and phytohormones, macromolecules such as proteins and RNAs also act as signalling agents in plants. As information molecules, RNAs can move locally between cells through plasmodesmata, and over long distances through phloem. Non-cell-autonomous RNAs may act as mobile signals to regulate plant development, nutrient allocation, gene silencing, antiviral defence, stress responses and many other physiological processes in plants. Recent work has shed light on mobile RNAs and, in some cases, uncovered their roles in intercellular and systemic signalling networks. This review summarizes the current knowledge of local and systemic RNA movement, and discusses the potential regulatory mechanisms and biological significance of RNA trafficking in plants.

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Fig. 1: Routes for RNA trafficking between plant cells.
Fig. 2: Schematic drawing of non-cell-autonomous RNA silencing in plants.
Fig. 3: Dynamic network of intercellular communication.

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Acknowledgements

We apologize for not being able to discuss or cite many studies due to limited space. Research in the Liu and Chen labs is supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (91740202), National Institutes of Health (GM061146), Guangdong Innovation Research Team Fund (2014ZT05S078), National Science Foundation (IOS-1340001) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (31600982).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China

    Lin Liu

  2. Longhua Bioindustry and Innovation Research Institute, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China

    Lin Liu

  3. Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Institute of Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

    Xuemei Chen

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  1. Lin Liu
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  2. Xuemei Chen
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L. L. and X. C. wrote this article.

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Correspondence to Xuemei Chen.

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Liu, L., Chen, X. Intercellular and systemic trafficking of RNAs in plants. Nature Plants 4, 869–878 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-018-0288-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-018-0288-5

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