MicroRNA (miRNA) is a short, single-stranded, non-coding RNA found in eukaryotic cells that can regulate the expression of many genes at the post-transcriptional level. Among various plant miRNAs with diverse functions, miR156 plays a key role in biological processes, including developmental regulation, immune response, metabolic regulation, and abiotic stress. MiRNAs have become the regulatory center for plant growth and development. MicroRNA156 (miR156) is a highly conserved and emerging tool for the improvement of plant traits, including crop productivity and stress tolerance. Fine-tuning of squamosa promoter biding-like (SPL) gene expression might be a useful strategy for crop improvement. Here, we studied the regulation of the miR156 module and its interaction with SPL factors to understand the developmental transition of various plant species. Furthermore, this review provides a strong background for plant biotechnology and is an important source of information for further molecular breeding to optimize farming productivity.

Oil palm, a cross-pollinated crop with long generation time, poses a lot of challenges in achieving sustainable oil palm with high yield and quality. The African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the most productive and versatile oil-yielding crop in the world, producing more than any other oil-yielding crop. Despite recent challenges, such as stress tolerance, superior oil quality, disease tolerance, and the need for new market niches, there is a growing need to explore and develop new varieties with high yield potential and the genetic diversity required to maintain oil palm yield stability. Breeding is an indispensable part of producing high-quality planting materials to increase oil palm yield. Biotechnological technologies have transformed conventional plant breeding approaches by introducing novel genotypes for breeding. Innovative pre-breeding and breeding approaches, such as identifying candidate genes in wild or land races using genomics tools, can pave the way for genetic improvement in oil palm. In this review, we highlighted the modern breeding tools, including genomics, marker-assisted breeding, genetic engineering, and genome editing techniques in oil palm crops, and we explored certain concerns connected to the techniques and their applications in practical breeding.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small (20–24 nucleotides (nt) long) non-coding RNAs. One mature miRNA can be transcribed from one or more gene loci known as miRNA genes (MIRs). The transcript of a MIR forms a stem-loop structure that is processed into a 20–24-nt miRNA-5p/−3p duplex by RNase III family endoribonucleases such as Dicer-like1 (DCL1). In turn, the overhang ends of the duplex are methylated by HUA ENHANCER 1 (HEN1), generating stabilized mature miRNAs. The mature miRNAs are loaded onto ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins, forming a miRNA-induced gene silencing complex (miRISC). Then, the miRISC binds to target sites with sequences complementary to the miRNAs, leading to either cleavage or translational inhibition of the target mRNAs, or methylation of the target sequences, resulting in post-transcriptional and transcriptional gene silencing, respectively. In the past decade, more than 700 miRNAs have been identified in rice, a subset of which have been found to be responsive to the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, or its elicitors. Moreover, members of 10 miRNA families have been found to positively or negatively regulate rice defense against M. oryzae, namely miR160, miR164, miR166, miR167, miR169, miR319, miR396, miR398, miR444 and miR7695. This review summarizes the identification and functional characterization of the miRNAs, which respond to M. oryzae or its elicitors and describes the current understanding of the complicated but well-organized network in the context of rice-M. oryzae interaction.

Oil palm crops are the most important determinant of the agricultural economy within the segment of oilseed crops. Oil palm growing in their natural habitats are often challenged simultaneously by multiple stress factors, both abiotic and biotic that limit crop productivity and are major constraints to meeting global food demands. The stress-tolerant oil palm crops that mitigate the effects of abiotic stresses on crop productivity are crucially needed to sustain agricultural production. Basal stem rot threatens the development of the industry, and the key to solving the problem is to breed new oil palm varieties resistant to adversity. This has created a need for genetic improvement which involves evaluation of germplasm, pest and disease resistance, earliness and shattering resistance, quality of oil, varieties for different climatic conditions, etc. In recent years, insights into physiology, molecular biology, and genetics have significantly enhanced our understanding of oil palm response towards such stimuli as well as the reason for varietal diversity in tolerance. In this review, we explore the research progress, existing problems, and prospects of oil palm stress resistance-based physiological mechanisms of stress tolerance as well as the genes and metabolic pathways that regulate stress response.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is a typical tropical oil crop with a temperature of 26–28 °C, providing approximately 35% of the total world’s vegetable oil. Growth and productivity are significantly affected by low-temperature stress, resulting in inhibited growth and substantial yield losses. To comprehend the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying the response and acclimation of oil palm under low-temperature stress, multi-omics approaches, including metabolomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics, have emerged as powerful tools. This comprehensive review aims to provide an in-depth analysis of recent advancements in multi-omics studies on oil palm under low-temperature stress, including the key findings from omics-based research, highlighting changes in metabolite profiles, protein expression, and gene transcription, as well as including the potential of integrating multi-omics data to reveal novel insights into the molecular networks and regulatory pathways involved in the response to low-temperature stress. This review also emphasizes the challenges and prospects of multi-omics approaches in oil palm research, providing a roadmap for future investigations. Overall, a better understanding of the molecular basis of the response of oil palm to low-temperature stress will facilitate the development of effective breeding and biotechnological strategies to improve the crop’s resilience and productivity in changing climate scenarios.