3501
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Abstract
Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been found to have roles in a great variety of processes, including transcriptional regulation, chromosome replication, RNA processing and modification, messenger RNA stability and translation, and even protein degradation and translocation. Recent studies indicate that ncRNAs are far more abundant and important than initially imagined. These findings raise several fundamental questions: How many ncRNAs are encoded by a genome? Given the absence of a diagnostic open reading frame, how can these genes be identified? How can all the functions of ncRNAs be elucidated?
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Base Pairing
- Catalysis
- Chromosomes/physiology
- Chromosomes/ultrastructure
- Evolution, Molecular
- Gene Silencing
- Humans
- Protein Biosynthesis
- Protein Transport
- Proteins/metabolism
- RNA/metabolism
- RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional
- RNA, Bacterial/chemistry
- RNA, Bacterial/genetics
- RNA, Bacterial/physiology
- RNA, Catalytic/metabolism
- RNA, Messenger/metabolism
- RNA, Untranslated/chemistry
- RNA, Untranslated/genetics
- RNA, Untranslated/physiology
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela Storz
- Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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3502
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Williams RW, Rubin GM. ARGONAUTE1 is required for efficient RNA interference in Drosophila embryos. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002; 99:6889-94. [PMID: 12011447 PMCID: PMC124499 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.072190799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) triggers homology-dependent posttranscriptional gene interference (RNAi) in a diverse range of eukaryotic organisms, in a process mechanistically related to viral and transgene-mediated cosuppression. RNAi is characterized by the conversion of long dsRNA into approximately 21-25-nt small interfering RNAs (siRNA) that guide the degradation of homologous mRNA. Many of the genes required for siRNA production and target mRNA degradation are widely conserved. Notably, members of the Argonaute-like gene family from Arabidopsis, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, and Neurospora have been genetically and/or biochemically identified as components of the RNAi/cosuppression pathway. We show here that mutations in the Drosophila Argonaute1 (AGO1) gene suppress RNAi in embryos. This defect corresponds to a reduced ability to degrade mRNA in response to dsRNA in vitro. Furthermore, AGO1 is not required for siRNA production in vitro nor can the introduction of siRNA bypass AGO1 mutants in vivo. These data suggest that AGO1 functions downstream of siRNA production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert W Williams
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA.
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3503
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Affiliation(s)
- Dianne S Schwarz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
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3504
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Abstract
In recent years, systematic searches of both prokaryote and eukaryote genomes have identified a staggering number of small RNAs, the biological functions of which remain unknown. Small RNA-based regulators are well known from bacterial plasmids. They act on target RNAs by sequence complementarity; that is, they are antisense RNAs. Recent findings suggest that many of the novel orphan RNAs encoded by bacterial and eukaryotic chromosomes might also belong to a ubiquitous, heterogeneous class of antisense regulators of gene expression.
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3505
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Lagos-Quintana M, Rauhut R, Yalcin A, Meyer J, Lendeckel W, Tuschl T. Identification of tissue-specific microRNAs from mouse. Curr Biol 2002; 12:735-9. [PMID: 12007417 DOI: 10.1016/s0960-9822(02)00809-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2566] [Impact Index Per Article: 111.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a new class of noncoding RNAs, which are encoded as short inverted repeats in the genomes of invertebrates and vertebrates. It is believed that miRNAs are modulators of target mRNA translation and stability, although most target mRNAs remain to be identified. Here we describe the identification of 34 novel miRNAs by tissue-specific cloning of approximately 21-nucleotide RNAs from mouse. Almost all identified miRNAs are conserved in the human genome and are also frequently found in nonmammalian vertebrate genomes, such as pufferfish. In heart, liver, or brain, it is found that a single, tissue-specifically expressed miRNA dominates the population of expressed miRNAs and suggests a role for these miRNAs in tissue specification or cell lineage decisions. Finally, a miRNA was identified that appears to be the fruitfly and mammalian ortholog of C. elegans lin-4 stRNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Lagos-Quintana
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
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3506
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Paddison PJ, Caudy AA, Bernstein E, Hannon GJ, Conklin DS. Short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) induce sequence-specific silencing in mammalian cells. Genes Dev 2002; 16:948-58. [PMID: 11959843 PMCID: PMC152352 DOI: 10.1101/gad.981002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1107] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) was first recognized in Caenorhabditis elegans as a biological response to exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), which induces sequence-specific gene silencing. RNAi represents a conserved regulatory motif, which is present in a wide range of eukaryotic organisms. Recently, we and others have shown that endogenously encoded triggers of gene silencing act through elements of the RNAi machinery to regulate the expression of protein-coding genes. These small temporal RNAs (stRNAs) are transcribed as short hairpin precursors (approximately 70 nt), processed into active, 21-nt RNAs by Dicer, and recognize target mRNAs via base-pairing interactions. Here, we show that short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) can be engineered to suppress the expression of desired genes in cultured Drosophila and mammalian cells. shRNAs can be synthesized exogenously or can be transcribed from RNA polymerase III promoters in vivo, thus permitting the construction of continuous cell lines or transgenic animals in which RNAi enforces stable and heritable gene silencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J Paddison
- Watson School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA
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3507
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Catalanotto C, Azzalin G, Macino G, Cogoni C. Involvement of small RNAs and role of the qde genes in the gene silencing pathway in Neurospora. Genes Dev 2002; 16:790-5. [PMID: 11937487 PMCID: PMC186333 DOI: 10.1101/gad.222402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Small RNA molecules have been found to be specifically associated with posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS) in both plants and animals. Here, we find that small sense and antisense RNAs are also involved in PTGS in Neurospora crassa. The accumulation of these RNA molecules depends on the presence of functional qde-1 and qde-3 genes previously shown to be essential for gene silencing, but does not depend on a functional qde-2, indicating that this gene is involved in a downstream step of the gene silencing pathway. Supporting this idea, a purified QDE2 protein complex was found to contain small RNA molecules, suggesting that QDE2 could be part of a small RNA-directed ribonuclease complex involved in sequence-specific mRNA degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Catalanotto
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Cellulari ed Ematologia, Sezione di Genetica Molecolare, Università di Roma La Sapienza, 00161 Roma, Italy
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3508
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Abstract
Almost ten years ago, the Ambros laboratory made the extraordinary discovery that a gene essential for development in Caenorhabditis elegans encoded a 22-nucleotide, untranslated RNA. Further genetic studies in this nematode revealed the existence of a second tiny RNA gene that turned out to be conserved in animals as diverse as flies and humans. Now, the Ambros, Bartel and Tuschl laboratories have proven that those odd RNAs were just the first examples of a large family of RNAs, termed microRNAs (miRNAs). Although untranslated RNA genes, such as transfer RNAs and ribosomal RNAs, perform essential housekeeping roles in all living organisms, growing numbers of other RNAs, some widely conserved across phyla and others limited to certain species, are being uncovered and shown to fulfill specific duties. The discovery of miRNAs establishes a new class of regulatory RNAs and highlights the existence of unexpected RNA genes that, although ancient, are not extinct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy E Pasquinelli
- Dept of Molecular Biology, Wellman 8, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Blossom St, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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3509
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Abstract
In organisms as diverse as nematodes, trypanosomes, plants, and fungi, double-stranded RNA triggers the destruction of homologous mRNAs, a phenomenon known as RNA interference. RNA interference begins with the transformation of the double-stranded RNA into small RNAs that then guide a protein nuclease to destroy their mRNA targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- György Hutvágner
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA
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3510
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Lai EC. Micro RNAs are complementary to 3' UTR sequence motifs that mediate negative post-transcriptional regulation. Nat Genet 2002; 30:363-4. [PMID: 11896390 DOI: 10.1038/ng865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1117] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Micro RNAs are a large family of noncoding RNAs of 21-22 nucleotides whose functions are generally unknown. Here a large subset of Drosophila micro RNAs is shown to be perfectly complementary to several classes of sequence motif previously demonstrated to mediate negative post-transcriptional regulation. These findings suggest a more general role for micro RNAs in gene regulation through the formation of RNA duplexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric C Lai
- University of California at Berkeley, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 545 Life Sciences Addition #3200, Berkeley, California 94720-3200, USA.
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3511
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Mourelatos Z, Dostie J, Paushkin S, Sharma A, Charroux B, Abel L, Rappsilber J, Mann M, Dreyfuss G. miRNPs: a novel class of ribonucleoproteins containing numerous microRNAs. Genes Dev 2002; 16:720-8. [PMID: 11914277 PMCID: PMC155365 DOI: 10.1101/gad.974702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 794] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Gemin3 is a DEAD-box RNA helicase that binds to the Survival of Motor Neurons (SMN) protein and is a component of the SMN complex, which also comprises SMN, Gemin2, Gemin4, Gemin5, and Gemin6. Reduction in SMN protein results in Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a common neurodegenerative disease. The SMN complex has critical functions in the assembly/restructuring of diverse ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes. Here we report that Gemin3 and Gemin4 are also in a separate complex that contains eIF2C2, a member of the Argonaute protein family. This novel complex is a large approximately 15S RNP that contains numerous microRNAs (miRNAs). We describe 40 miRNAs, a few of which are identical to recently described human miRNAs, a class of small endogenous RNAs. The genomic sequences predict that miRNAs are likely to be derived from larger precursors that have the capacity to form stem-loop structures.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Argonaute Proteins
- Blotting, Western
- Centrifugation, Density Gradient
- Cloning, Molecular
- DEAD Box Protein 20
- DEAD-box RNA Helicases
- Eukaryotic Initiation Factors
- HeLa Cells
- Humans
- Mice
- MicroRNAs
- Minor Histocompatibility Antigens
- Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism
- Nuclear Proteins/metabolism
- Nucleic Acid Conformation
- Peptide Initiation Factors/metabolism
- Plasmids/metabolism
- Precipitin Tests
- Protein Binding
- Protein Structure, Tertiary
- RNA Helicases/metabolism
- RNA, Antisense/chemistry
- RNA, Antisense/classification
- RNA, Messenger/metabolism
- RNA, Untranslated/chemistry
- RNA, Untranslated/classification
- RNA-Binding Proteins
- Ribonucleoproteins/chemistry
- Ribonucleoproteins/metabolism
- Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear
- SMN Complex Proteins
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Affiliation(s)
- Zissimos Mourelatos
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6148, USA
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3512
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Seggerson K, Tang L, Moss EG. Two genetic circuits repress the Caenorhabditis elegans heterochronic gene lin-28 after translation initiation. Dev Biol 2002; 243:215-25. [PMID: 11884032 DOI: 10.1006/dbio.2001.0563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 275] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The heterochronic gene lin-28 of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans controls the relative timing of diverse developmental events during the animal's larval stages. lin-28 is stage-specifically regulated by two genetic circuits: negatively by the 22-nt RNA lin-4 and positively by the heterochronic gene lin-14. Here, we show that lin-28 is repressed during normal development by a mechanism that acts on its mRNA after translation initiation. We provide evidence that lin-14 inhibits a negative regulation that is independent of the lin-4 RNA and involves the gene daf-12, which encodes a nuclear hormone receptor. The lin-4-independent repression does not affect the initiation of translation on the lin-28 mRNA, and like the lin-4-mediated repression, acts through the gene's 3'-untranslated region. In addition, we find that lin-4 is not sufficient to cause repression of lin-28 if the lin-4-independent circuit is inhibited. Therefore, the lin-4-independent circuit likely contributes substantially to the down-regulation of lin-28 that occurs during normal development. The role of lin-4 may be to initiate or potentiate the lin-4-independent circuit. We speculate that a parallel lin-4-independent regulatory mechanism regulates the expression of lin-14.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Animals, Genetically Modified
- Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics
- Caenorhabditis elegans/growth & development
- Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/biosynthesis
- Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/genetics
- Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/physiology
- Centrifugation, Density Gradient
- Cycloheximide/pharmacology
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/genetics
- Helminth Proteins
- Larva
- MicroRNAs
- Models, Genetic
- Nuclear Proteins
- Peptide Chain Elongation, Translational
- Peptide Chain Initiation, Translational
- Protein Processing, Post-Translational
- Protein Synthesis Inhibitors/pharmacology
- RNA, Messenger/genetics
- RNA, Messenger/metabolism
- RNA, Messenger/physiology
- Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear/physiology
- Repressor Proteins/genetics
- Repressor Proteins/physiology
- Ribosomes/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy Seggerson
- Fox Chase Cancer Center, 7701 Burholme Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111, USA
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3513
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Abstract
Genes for tiny RNAs have been found to be plentiful in the genomes of worms, flies, humans and probably all animals. Some of these microRNAs have been conserved through evolution, and many are expressed only at specific times or places. How they act is just beginning to be understood, but their importance to biology is likely to be great.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric G Moss
- Cell and Developmental Biology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111, USA
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3514
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Misteli T. A new continent in the RNA world. Trends Cell Biol 2002. [DOI: 10.1016/s0962-8924(01)02235-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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3515
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Pal-Bhadra M, Bhadra U, Birchler JA. RNAi related mechanisms affect both transcriptional and posttranscriptional transgene silencing in Drosophila. Mol Cell 2002; 9:315-27. [PMID: 11864605 DOI: 10.1016/s1097-2765(02)00440-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 316] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Two types of transgene silencing were found for the Alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) transcription unit. Transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) is Polycomb dependent and occurs when Adh is driven by the white eye color gene promoter. Full-length Adh transgenes are silenced posttranscriptionally at high copy number or by a pulsed increase over a threshold. The posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS) exhibits molecular hallmarks typical of RNA interference (RNAi), including the production of 21--25 bp length sense and antisense RNAs homologous to the silenced RNA. Mutations in piwi, which belongs to a gene family with members required for RNAi, block PTGS and one aspect of TGS, indicating a connection between the two types of silencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manika Pal-Bhadra
- Division of Biological Sciences, 117 Tucker Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
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3516
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Abstract
By a systematic search of vertebrate mRNA sequences, we have identified a surprisingly large number of human antisense transcripts. These data suggest that regulation of gene expression by antisense and double-stranded RNAs could be a common phenomenon in mammalian cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Lehner
- MRC UK HGMP Resource Centre, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK CB10 1SB
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3517
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Banerjee D, Slack F. Control of developmental timing by small temporal RNAs: a paradigm for RNA-mediated regulation of gene expression. Bioessays 2002; 24:119-29. [PMID: 11835276 DOI: 10.1002/bies.10046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Heterochronic genes control the timing of developmental programs. In C. elegans, two key genes in the heterochronic pathway, lin-4 and let-7, encode small temporally expressed RNAs (stRNAs) that are not translated into protein. These stRNAs exert negative post-transcriptional regulation by binding to complementary sequences in the 3' untranslated regions of their target genes. stRNAs are transcribed as longer precursor RNAs that are processed by the RNase Dicer/DCR-1 and members of the RDE-1/AGO1 family of proteins, which are better known for their roles in RNA interference (RNAi). However, stRNA function appears unrelated to RNAi. Both sequence and temporal regulation of let-7 stRNA is conserved in other animal species suggesting that this is an evolutionarily ancient gene. Indeed, C. elegans, Drosophila and humans encode at least 86 other RNAs with similar structural features to lin-4 and let-7. We postulate that other small non-coding RNAs may function as stRNAs to control temporal identity during development in C. elegans and other organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diya Banerjee
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Development Biology, Yale University, 266 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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3518
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Abstract
Two small temporally regulated RNAs (stRNAs)* of approximately 22 nucleotides regulate timing of gene expression during development of the nematode C. elegans. This regulation occurs at a posttranscriptional, presumably translational, level and is distinct from RNA interference (RNAi). One of the two stRNAs, let-7, as well as its target gene, lin-41, are highly conserved even in humans, suggesting a wide employment of stRNA-mediated gene regulation. Recent reports indicate that these two stRNAs are indeed likely to represent only the tip of an iceberg with hundreds or more of additional micro-RNAs (miRNAs) existing in metazoans. miRNAs might thus be previously underestimated key participants in the field of gene regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helge Grosshans
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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3519
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Abstract
A variety of RNA molecules have been found over the last 20 years to have a remarkable range of functions beyond the well-known roles of messenger, ribosomal and transfer RNAs. Here, we present a general categorization of all non-coding RNAs and briefly discuss the ones that affect transcription, translation and protein function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maciej Szymański
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704 Poznań, Poland
| | - Jan Barciszewski
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704 Poznań, Poland
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3520
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Abstract
Animal genomes contain an abundance of small genes that produce regulatory RNAs of about 22 nucleotides in length. These microRNAs are diverse in sequence and expression patterns, and are evolutionarily widespread, suggesting that they may participate in a wide range of genetic regulatory pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Ambros
- Department of Genetics, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
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3521
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Breakthrough of the year. The runners-up. Science 2001; 294:2443-7. [PMID: 11752538 DOI: 10.1126/science.294.5551.2443b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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3522
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Abstract
Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) genes produce functional RNA molecules rather than encoding proteins. However, almost all means of gene identification assume that genes encode proteins, so even in the era of complete genome sequences, ncRNA genes have been effectively invisible. Recently, several different systematic screens have identified a surprisingly large number of new ncRNA genes. Non-coding RNAs seem to be particularly abundant in roles that require highly specific nucleic acid recognition without complex catalysis, such as in directing post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression or in guiding RNA modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- S R Eddy
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
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3523
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3524
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Abstract
The lin-4 and let-7 antisense RNAs are temporal regulators that control the timing of developmental events in Caenorhabditis elegans by inhibiting translation of target mRNAs. let-7 RNA is conserved among bilaterian animals, suggesting that this class of small RNAs [microRNAs (miRNAs)] is evolutionarily ancient. Using bioinformatics and cDNA cloning, we found 15 new miRNA genes in C. elegans. Several of these genes express small transcripts that vary in abundance during C. elegans larval development, and three of them have apparent homologs in mammals and/or insects. Small noncoding RNAs of the miRNA class appear to be numerous and diverse.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Base Sequence
- Blotting, Northern
- Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics
- Caenorhabditis elegans/growth & development
- Cloning, Molecular
- Computational Biology
- Conserved Sequence
- DNA, Intergenic
- Gene Expression Regulation
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
- Gene Library
- Genes, Helminth
- Humans
- Nucleic Acid Conformation
- Organ Specificity
- RNA Precursors/genetics
- RNA Precursors/metabolism
- RNA, Antisense/chemistry
- RNA, Antisense/genetics
- RNA, Antisense/metabolism
- RNA, Helminth/chemistry
- RNA, Helminth/genetics
- RNA, Helminth/metabolism
- RNA, Untranslated/chemistry
- RNA, Untranslated/genetics
- RNA, Untranslated/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- R C Lee
- Dartmouth Medical School, Department of Genetics, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
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3525
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Lau NC, Lim LP, Weinstein EG, Bartel DP. An abundant class of tiny RNAs with probable regulatory roles in Caenorhabditis elegans. Science 2001; 294:858-62. [PMID: 11679671 DOI: 10.1126/science.1065062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2394] [Impact Index Per Article: 99.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Two small temporal RNAs (stRNAs), lin-4 and let-7, control developmental timing in Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that these two regulatory RNAs are members of a large class of 21- to 24-nucleotide noncoding RNAs, called microRNAs (miRNAs). We report on 55 previously unknown miRNAs in C. elegans. The miRNAs have diverse expression patterns during development: a let-7 paralog is temporally coexpressed with let-7; miRNAs encoded in a single genomic cluster are coexpressed during embryogenesis; and still other miRNAs are expressed constitutively throughout development. Potential orthologs of several of these miRNA genes were identified in Drosophila and human genomes. The abundance of these tiny RNAs, their expression patterns, and their evolutionary conservation imply that, as a class, miRNAs have broad regulatory functions in animals.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Base Sequence
- Blotting, Northern
- Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics
- Cloning, Molecular
- Conserved Sequence
- Endoribonucleases/metabolism
- Gene Expression Regulation
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
- Genes, Helminth
- Genome
- Humans
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Multigene Family
- Nucleic Acid Conformation
- RNA Precursors/genetics
- RNA Precursors/metabolism
- RNA, Helminth/chemistry
- RNA, Helminth/genetics
- RNA, Helminth/physiology
- RNA, Untranslated/chemistry
- RNA, Untranslated/genetics
- RNA, Untranslated/physiology
- Ribonuclease III
- Transcription, Genetic
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Affiliation(s)
- N C Lau
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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3526
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Metzler DE, Metzler CM, Sauke DJ. Growth and Development. Biochemistry 2001. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-012492543-4/50035-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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