Roles of long noncoding RNA during stress response in maize

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are longer than 200 bp and belong to a class of noncoding RNAs transcripts, lacking protein-coding capacity. They have essential roles in various biological processes like transcriptional, posttranscriptional, genomic imprinting, and epigenetic levels. The function and involvement of lncRNAs in plants are not much explored to date; however, with the help of high-throughput sequencing technologies, vast numbers of lncRNAs were discovered in rice, Arabidopsis, maize, and in other plant species. Maize (Zea mays L.) is a grain cereal crop used as human food and also used for livestock feed and industrial materials. Recently, several lncRNAs have been associated with abiotic and biotic stress responses in maize and perform indispensable roles to adapt to environmental conditions. In this chapter, we summarize the recent studies of lncRNAs and emphasize on emerging roles of lncRNAs in regulating response in maize under stress. Hence, understanding this particular group of noncoding RNAs may lead to biotechnological improvement of crops.