Role of microRNAs and other sRNAs of plants in their changing environments

Plants constantly face a complex array of environmental biotic and abiotic stimuli. Recent studies in various plants have highlighted the key roles of microRNAs and of different siRNA classes in the post-transcriptional regulation of plant genes essential for conserved responses of plants to individual stress conditions. It is not yet clear how these different signals and responses are integrated in nature. In the present review, we summarize current knowledge on sRNA-mediated responses to stress, and highlight possible directions of future research.