ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises the regulation of the conserved microtranscriptome and the putative roles of novel MicroRNAs (miRNA ) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) involved in sugarcane responses to stress. The high-throughput characterization of miRNA and siRNA associated with sugarcane responses to environmental changes was possible due to the remarkable improvement of sequencing technologies and advances in the computational analysis of plant small RNA (sRNA). Historically, the researchers seek to discover patterns of miRNA expression in different developing and environmental conditions in order to elucidate the regulatory effects of miRNA on their targets and to modulate the miRNA activity for plant improvement. The history of small RNA discovery in sugarcane started in 2005 when the first miRNA precursors were identified. Since then, the progress in the knowledge of sugarcane miRNA and siRNA-guided regulation during development and environmental stresses has been steady.
