Patent ID: 8217227

Claim:
A method for suppressing expression of a target RNA in a specific cell of a plant, comprising transcribing in said plant a recombinant DNA construct comprising a promoter functional in a plant cell and operably linked to DNA that transcribes to RNA comprising: (a) at least one exogenous miR408 miRNA recognition site that is recognizable by a mature miR408 miRNA that is expressed in a specific cell of a plant, and; (b) target RNA to be suppressed in said specific cell, wherein said mature mir408 miRNA guides cleavage of said target RNA in said specific cell, and wherein said target RNA is not an RNA from an endogenous target gene for miR408 miRNA, whereby expression of said target RNA is suppressed in said specific cell relative to its expression in cells lacking expression of said mature miR408 miRNA.