Structural determinants in the miRNA/miRNA* duplex and the DCL1 PAZ domain for precise and efficient plant miRNA processing

SUMMARY The accessory proteins Hyponastic‐like 1 (HYL1) and Serrated (SE) enhance the precise and efficient processing of miRNAs by Dicer‐like 1 (DCL1), which is important for proper miRNA function. However, other factors determining the precision and efficiency of miRNA biogenesis are not well‐known. Here, we found that an asymmetric bulge (AB) at the 3′ end of miR‐5p (produced from the 5′ arm of the pre‐miRNA) reduced the precision of the second cleavage, whereas an AB at other sites of miR‐5p mainly affected the accumulation level of miR‐5p in transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana . In contrast, many ABs in miR‐3p (produced from the 3′ arm of the pre‐miRNA) impose strong negative impact on the processing precision and the accumulation level of miR‐5p in N. benthamiana . Arabidopsis DCL1/SE/HYL1 complex‐mediated miRNA processing was reconstituted in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to further investigate AB‐mediated interference with DCL1 processing. With this system, the positional effect of AB on miRNA processing was tested. The results showed that ABs on the middle of miR‐5p have less of an impact on DCL1 cleavage efficiency and precision, whereas those on miR‐3p or near the ends of miR‐5p strongly reduce DCL1 cleavage activity, precision or both. Studies using the yeast miRNA processing system and transgenic Arabidopsis also revealed the importance of the interaction between the 2‐nt 3′ overhang of pre‐miRNA and the 3′ overhang binding pocket (3′BP) on the precision of the second cleavage reaction for many endogenous miRNAs. These findings provide new insights into the mechanism of miRNA biogenesis.