Flower structure in grasses is very unique. There are no petals or sepals like in eudicots but instead flowers develop bract-like structures - palea and lemma. Reproductive organs are enclosed by round lodicule that not only protects reproductive organs but also plays an important role during flower opening. The first genetic model for floral organ development was proposed 25 years ago and it was based on the research on model eudicots. Since then, studies have been carried out to answer the question whether this model could be applicable in the case of monocots. Genes from all classes found in eudicots have been also identified in genomes of such monocots like rice, maize or barley. What's more, it seems that miRNA-mediated regulation of floral organ genes that was observed in the case of Arabidopsis thaliana also takes place in monocots. MiRNA172, miRNA159, miRNA171 and miRNA396 regulate expression of floral organ identity genes in barley, rice and maize, affecting various features of the flower structure, ranging from formation of lemma and palea to the development of reproductive organs. A model of floral development in grasses and its genetic regulation is not yet fully characterized. Further studies on both, the model eudicots and grasses, are needed to unravel this topic. This review provides general overview of genetic model of flower organ identity specification in monocots and it's miRNA-mediated regulation.

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Nitrogen (N) is an important element for plant growth and development. Although several studies have examined plants’ response to N deficiency, studies on plants’ response to excess N, which is common in fertilizer-based agrosystems, are limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the response of barley to excess N conditions, specifically the root response. Additionally, genomic mechanism of excess N response in barley was elucidated using transcriptomic technologies. The results of the study showed that barley MADS27 transcription factor was mainly expressed in the roots and its gene contained N-responsive cis-regulatory elements in the promoter region. Additionally, there was a significant decrease in HvMADS27 expression under excess N condition; however, its expression was not significantly affected under low N condition. Phenotypic analysis of the root system of HvMADS27 knockdown and overexpressing barley plants revealed that HvMADS27 regulates barley root architecture under excess N stress. Further analysis of wild-type (WT) and transgenic barley plants (hvmads27 kd and hvmads27 c-Myc OE) revealed that HvMADS27 regulates the expression of HvBG1 β-glucosidase, which in turn regulates abscisic acid (ABA) level in roots. Overall, the findings of this study showed that HvMADS27 expression is downregulated in barley roots under excess N stress, which induces HvBG1 expression, leading to the release of ABA from ABA-glucose conjugate, and consequent shortening of the roots.

The regulation of mRNA (messenger RNA) levels by microRNA-mediated activity is especially important in plant responses to environmental stresses. In this work, we report six novel barley microRNAs, including two processed from the same precursor that are severely downregulated under drought conditions. For all analyzed microRNAs, we found target genes that were upregulated under drought conditions and that were known to be involved in a plethora of processes from disease resistance to chromatin–protein complex formation and the regulation of transcription in mitochondria. Targets for novel barley microRNAs were confirmed through degradome data analysis and RT-qPCR using primers flanking microRNA-recognition site. Our results show a broad transcriptional response of barley to water deficiency conditions through microRNA-mediated gene regulation and facilitate further research on drought tolerance in crops.