Discoveries from the past decades revealed that RNA molecules are much more
than inert intermediates between the coding DNA sequences and their functional
products, proteins. Today, RNAs are recognized as active regulatory molecules
influencing gene expression, chromatin organization and genome stability, thus
impacting all aspects of plant life including development, growth, reproduction and
stress tolerance.
Innovations in methodologies, the expanding application of next-generation
sequencing technologies, and the creation of public datasets and databases have
exposed a new universe of RNA-based mechanisms and led to the discovery of
new families of non-coding RNAs, uncovered the large extent of alternative splicing
events, and highlighted the potential roles of RNA modifications and RNA secondary
structures. Furthermore, considerable advances have been made in identifying
RNA-binding and processing factors involved in the synthesis and maturation
of different forms of RNA molecules as well as in RNA processing, biochemical
modifications or degradation.
This Research Topic showcases the broad biological significance of RNAs in plant systems and contains eight original research articles, one review and four mini-reviews, covering various RNA-based mechanisms in higher plants. Emerging new technologies and novel multidisciplinary approaches are empowering the scientific community and will expectedly bring novel insights into our understanding of the mechanisms through which RNA is regulated and regulates biological processes in plant cells.