Dr. Huibin Han published a commentary article in Nature Plants
On February 25th of 2025, a commentary article entitled “A microRNA defines root regeneration” by Dr. Huibin Han was published in the top journal Nature Plants.
Injury-induced regeneration allows plants to restore lost or damaged cells, tissues and organs and thus to survive severe injuries. A recent study shows that the microRNA 396–GROWTH REGULATING FACTORs (miR396–GRFs) module has a bifunctional role in restoring a damaged root. On one hand, miR396 bolsters regeneration potential by regulating the activity of transcription factors (TFs) including WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX 5 (WOX5) and PLETHORA 2 (PLT2) (Figure 1). Other the other hand, GRFs, the target of miR396, accelerate regeneration speed. A notable discovery is that the spatial position of cell division is correlated with miR396-GRFs module-mediated root regeneration. These findings provide novel insights into the root regeneration.
Figure 1. The working model of miR396–GRFs module in root regeneration.
Paper link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-01928-8
