Expression Pattern of Plant miRNAs by Classical Transcriptional Fusion Constructs.

microRNAs are noncoding RNAs of 20-24 nucleotides (nt) in length that act as repressors of genes and are important in key developmental processes in the entire life cycle of plants. To determine the function of a microRNA, the first step is to resolve its expression pattern; this can be achieved by in situ hybridization, RNA blot assays, or quantitative PCR. However, the study of the expression of a MIR gene is straightforward with the use of reporter proteins such as β-D-glucuronidase (GUS), GFP, or mCherry.