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Plant Cell, May 29 2026, koag155 | https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koag155 Dehydration-induced condensation of AGO1 modulates miRNA functionality

Hyun Ju Jung^1†, Tae Rin Oh^2†, Woorim Yang^1†, Jee-Eun Kim³, Christian Møller¹, Moon Young Ryu³, Bora Lee³, Mi Young Byun³, Hari Chandana Yadavalli¹, Suk Won Choi², Min Kyun Han¹, Young Kyoung Oh¹, Donghyuk Kim⁴, Jin Young Shin⁵, Tae-Hwan Kim⁶, Jong Hum Kim⁷, Taijoon Chung⁸, Jae-hoon Jung⁹, Phil Hyu Lee⁵, Woo Taek Kim^1*, Seok Keun Cho^3*, and Seong Wook Yang^1,3*

¹Department of Systems Biology, Institute of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, Korea
²Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
³Xenohelix Research Institute, BT Centre 305, 56 Songdogwahakro Yeonsugu, Incheon 21984, Korea
⁴School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, UNIST, UNIST-gil 50, Ulsan 44919, Korea
⁵Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 50 Yomsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, Korea.
⁶Department of Quantum System Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Korea.
⁷Department of Life Science, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 37673, Korea
⁸Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, 63 Beon-gil 2, Busandaehag-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Busan, 46241, Korea
⁹Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, 16419, Korea

^*Corresponding authors: Woo Taek Kim, Seok Keun Cho, and Seong Wook Yang
^†These authors have contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that microRNA (miRNA) functions are associated with plant responses to water deficiency. Mature miRNAs are loaded onto a complex that includes the ARGONAUTE 1 (AGO1) protein; this complex then cleaves mRNAs or inhibits their translation. Here, we demonstrate that the prion-like domain of AGO1 is responsible for topological changes in AGO1 under dehydration in Arabidopsis thaliana. AGO1 undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), which is driven by intrinsically disordered protein domains and plays diverse roles in cellular processes. LLPS of AGO in the cytoplasm influences miRNA regulatory activity, a process related to cytoplasmic calcium levels. We found that dehydration-induced AGO1 condensation influences AGO1 activity, while contributing to dehydration tolerance in plants. Upon rehydration, the condensation-driven accumulation of AGO1 is resolved, restoring its protein levels to normal. Overall, we propose that AGO1 phase separation acts as an emergent property in response to dehydration, attenuating the energy-consuming miRNA regulatory pathway in young seedlings.

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