The dcl1-13 mutation restored miRNA processing in hyl1 mutants. (A) Northern blot analyses of miRNAs (miR160, 163, 164, 166, 173, and 390) and tasiRNAs (siR255 and TAS35′D7[+]) in WT plants, hyl1-2 and hyl1 suppressors. Blots are shown with high contrast in order to make the differences clear. Ethidium bromide staining (5S rRNA and tRNA) is shown as a control. Relative RNA levels estimated from band signals are indicated at the bottom of each lane, with small RNA levels in WT plants set to 1.0. The signals for miR390 and TAS3 5′D7(+) were too weak to calculate the levels. (B) The values for the miRNAs (miR160, 163, 164, and 166) in A are graphically shown. (C) Northern blot analyses of miRNA precursors for miR166a and miR163 in WT plants, hyl1-2 and hyl1 suppressors. Ethidium bromide staining (5S rRNA and tRNA) is shown as a control. Bands of pri-/pre-miR166a or miR163 are indicated with arrows. The miR163 precursor has an additional cleavage step to produce its miRNA, resulting in the presence of long and short pre-miR163s (Kurihara and Watanabe 2004). Long pre-miR163 is indicated with an arrow.
