MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small (containing about 22 nucleotides) single-stranded non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level in plants and animals, being absent from unicellular organisms. They act on diverse key physiological and cellular processes, such as development and tissue differentiation, cell identity, cell cycle progression, and programmed cell death. They are also likely to be involved in a broad spectrum of human diseases. Particularly, this review examines and summarizes work characterizing the function of miRNAs in gametogenesis and fertility. Although numerous studies have elucidated the involvement of reproductive-specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in regulating germ cell development and meiosis, less is known about the role of miRNAs in these processes. We focus on the study of hypomorphic and null alleles of genes encoding components of miRNA biogenesis in both plants (Arabidopsis thaliana) and mammals (Mus musculus). We compare the consequences of the presence of these mutations on male meiosis in both species.

中文翻译：

---

参与miRNA生物发生的基因会影响减数分裂和生育能力。

MicroRNA（miRNA）是一类小的（包含约22个核苷酸）单链非编码RNA，可在植物和动物的转录后水平上调节基因表达，而单细胞生物则不存在。它们作用于各种关键的生理和细胞过程，例如发育和组织分化，细胞特性，细胞周期进程和程序性细胞死亡。它们也可能涉及广泛的人类疾病。尤其是，本篇文章审查并总结了表征miRNA在配子发生和生育中的功能的工作。尽管许多研究已经阐明了生殖特异性小干扰RNA（siRNA）在调控生殖细胞发育和减数分裂中的作用，但人们对miRNA在这些过程中的作用知之甚少。我们专注于植物（拟南芥）和哺乳动物（小家鼠）中编码miRNA生物发生成分的基因的亚等位基因和无效等位基因的研究。我们比较了两个物种中这些突变对雄性减数分裂的影响。