Small RNA and drought tolerance in crop plants

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting plant growth and development and thus affecting yield and productivity in the major dry areas of the world. There is an urgent need to evolve crop varieties that are tolerant to drought especially with the changing climate contributing to more unpredictability in rainfall and extreme events that can affect agriculture. Small RNAs are key players in the molecular mechanisms by which plants adjust to various abiotic stresses. Especially, the upregulation and down regulation of these small RNAs can contribute to drought tolerance mostly by suppression of metabolites that can adversely affect the metabolism during drought stress. In this review we attempt to summarize the current advances in the area of small RNA classification, biogenesis, occurrence, and mode of action and bring out the recent developments in miRNAs, target interaction and effects under drought in various crops. © 2017, Indian Society for Plant Physiology.