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RNA Activation: A Diamond in the Rough for Genome Engineers
Author(s) -
Vaschetto Luis María
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of cellular biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 165
eISSN - 1097-4644
pISSN - 0730-2312
DOI - 10.1002/jcb.26228
Subject(s) - rna silencing , rna interference , rna , biology , gene knockdown , gene silencing , gene , rna induced transcriptional silencing , rna induced silencing complex , trans acting sirna , dna directed rna interference , microbiology and biotechnology , gene expression , computational biology , small interfering rna , genetics
The ability to develop efficient and versatile technologies for manipulating gene expression is a fundamental issue both in biotechnology and therapeutics. The endogenous RNA interference (RNAi) pathway which mediates gene silencing was discovered at the end of the 20th century and it is nowadays considered as an essential strategy for knockdown of specific genes and for studying gene function. Remarkably, during the past decade, a RNA‐induced mechanism of gene activation has also been reported. Likewise RNAi, the RNA activation (RNAa) process is also mediated by sequence‐specific double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules, and interesting resemblances between both RNA‐based transcriptional mechanisms have been described. Small activating RNAs (saRNAs) and related molecules have been used for targeting of genes in species that are as different as nematodes and humans, and similar dsRNA‐induced activation phenomena have also been observed in plants. The aim of this letter is to highlight recent molecular insights into yet unexplored RNAa mechanism and its potential for manipulating transcriptional activity. J. Cell. Biochem. 119: 247–249, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.