Short Silencing RNA: The Dark Matter of Genetics? | Zendy

David C. Baulcombe | Zendy

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Short Silencing RNA: The Dark Matter of Genetics?

Author(s) -

David C. Baulcombe

Publication year - 2006

Publication title -

cold spring harbor symposia on quantitative biology

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 1.615

H-Index - 77

eISSN - 1943-4456

pISSN - 0091-7451

DOI - 10.1101/sqb.2006.71.052

Subject(s) - rna silencing , dicer , rna induced transcriptional silencing , rna , rna induced silencing complex , trans acting sirna , biology , rna editing , argonaute , genetics , non coding rna , gene silencing , rna dependent rna polymerase , small nucleolar rna , small interfering rna , microbiology and biotechnology , rna interference , gene

Plants and animals have single-stranded silencing RNAs (sRNAs) of 21-25 nucleotides in length that are derived from a double-stranded (ds)RNA precursor by Dicer (DCL) processing. These RNAs are the guide RNA for nucleases of the AGO class that cleave targeted RNA in a nucleotide sequence-specific manner. The cleaved RNAs are then degraded further or they are the template for an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RDR) that generates a dsRNA. In this paper, I discuss the possibility that this RDR-generated dsRNA initiates a cascade in which there are multiple rounds of secondary sRNA production. I propose that these secondary sRNAs feature in mechanisms that can either buffer mRNA populations against change or, in certain circumstances, mediate extensive changes in mRNA populations. The RNA cascades may also have RNA-mediated epigenetic characteristics in addition to the DNA and chromatin transcriptional silencing potential that has been previously linked with RNA silencing.

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