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RITS—connecting transcription, RNA interference, and heterochromatin assembly in fission yeast
Author(s) -
Creamer Kevin M.,
Partridge Janet F.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: rna
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.225
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1757-7012
pISSN - 1757-7004
DOI - 10.1002/wrna.80
Subject(s) - heterochromatin , rna induced transcriptional silencing , rna interference , biology , rna silencing , rna induced silencing complex , rasirna , schizosaccharomyces , rna , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , centromere , trans acting sirna , schizosaccharomyces pombe , chromatin , small interfering rna , transcription (linguistics) , gene , saccharomyces cerevisiae , chromosome , linguistics , philosophy
In recent years, a bevy of evidence has been unearthed indicating that ‘silent’ heterochromatin is not as transcriptionally inert as once thought. In the unicellular yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe , the processing of transcripts derived from centromeric repeats into homologous short interfering RNA (siRNA) is essential for the formation of centromeric heterochromatin. Deletion of genes required for siRNA biogenesis showed that core components of the canonical RNA interference (RNAi) pathway are essential for centromeric heterochromatin assembly as well as for centromere function. Subsequent purification of the RNA‐induced initiation of transcriptional gene silencing (RITS) complex provided the critical link between siRNAs and heterochromatin assembly, with RITS acting as a physical bridge between noncoding RNA scaffolds and chromatin. Here, we review current understanding of how RITS promotes heterochromatin formation and how it participates in transcription‐coupled silencing. WIREs RNA 2011 2 632–646 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.80 This article is categorized under: RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > Protein–RNA Interactions: Functional Implications Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Biogenesis of Effector Small RNAs Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > RNAi: Mechanisms of Action