REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1640284
This article is part of the Research TopicFrom Genes to Grains: Advancements in Understanding Seed Development and Grain FillingView all 5 articles
Non-coding RNA-Mediated Regulation of Seed Endosperm Development
Provisionally accepted
- College of Life Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, Beijing, China
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The endosperm, a triploid nutritive tissue in seeds, plays pivotal roles in embryo development, grain yield and quality. Recent advances highlight non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) as central regulators of endosperm development, which integrate epigenetic, transcriptional, and post-transcriptional mechanisms. Small RNAs (sRNAs), including microRNAs and small interfering RNAs, regulate endosperm cell proliferation, starch biosynthesis, and genomic dosage response by modulating hormonal pathways, metabolic processes, and transposon silencing. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) contribute to cellularization, nutrient accumulation, and genomic imprinting via chromatin remodeling, gene expression regulation, or interactions with sRNAs. Despite growing evidence of their roles, functional characterization of ncRNAs in endosperm biology remains limited, with many regulatory mechanisms unresolved. This review synthesizes current insights into ncRNA-driven processes governing endosperm development, emphasizing the potential of ncRNAs as targets for crop improvement. Future research should prioritize functional validation of ncRNAs networks and their integration with multi-omics approaches to unlock novel strategies for precision breeding and grain trait optimization.
Keywords: seed, Endosperm development, non-coding RNA, small RNA, long non-coding RNA
Received: 03 Jun 2025; Accepted: 22 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Wei, Wang, Zheng and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Fanfan Zhang, College of Life Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, Beijing, China
Shengcheng Han, College of Life Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, Beijing, China
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