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Molecular Plant Pathology Apr 2020RNA interference is a biological process whereby small RNAs inhibit gene expression through neutralizing targeted mRNA molecules. This process is conserved in... (Review)
Review
RNA interference is a biological process whereby small RNAs inhibit gene expression through neutralizing targeted mRNA molecules. This process is conserved in eukaryotes. Here, recent work regarding the mechanisms of how small RNAs move within and between organisms is examined. Small RNAs can move locally and systemically in plants through plasmodesmata and phloem, respectively. In fungi, transportation of small RNAs may also be achieved by septal pores and vesicles. Recent evidence also supports bidirectional cross-kingdom communication of small RNAs between host plants and adapted fungal pathogens to affect the outcome of infection. We discuss several mechanisms for small RNA trafficking and describe evidence for transport through naked form, combined with RNA-binding proteins or enclosed by vesicles.
Topics: Extracellular Vesicles; Fungi; Phloem; Plasmodesmata; RNA Interference; RNA, Plant
PubMed: 32027079
DOI: 10.1111/mpp.12911 -
Circulation Jan 2019Despite the availability of proven treatments for some patients with heart failure (HF), many patients—particularly those with HF and preserved ejection fraction...
Despite the availability of proven treatments for some patients with heart failure (HF), many patients—particularly those with HF and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)—remain difficult to treat, resulting in persistently high morbidity and mortality in the majority of HF patients. The lack of effective treatments, disappointing results of many HF randomized clinical trials (RCT), and variable treatment responses even for proven therapies are all possible reasons for the poor prognosis of HF patients. In the context of this backdrop, it is not surprising that there has been growing interest and enthusiasm for “precision medicine” in order to improve outcomes for patients who suffer from the HF syndrome.
Topics: Amyloidosis; Heart; Humans; Prealbumin; RNA Interference; RNA, Small Interfering
PubMed: 30664380
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.037593 -
Molecular Cancer Mar 2023PIWI proteins have a strong correlation with PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), which are significant in development and reproduction of organisms. Recently, emerging... (Review)
Review
PIWI proteins have a strong correlation with PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), which are significant in development and reproduction of organisms. Recently, emerging evidences have indicated that apart from the reproductive function, PIWI/piRNAs with abnormal expression, also involve greatly in varieties of human cancers. Moreover, human PIWI proteins are usually expressed only in germ cells and hardly in somatic cells, so the abnormal expression of PIWI proteins in different types of cancer offer a promising opportunity for precision medicine. In this review, we discussed current researches about the biogenesis of piRNA, its epigenetic regulatory mechanisms in human cancers, such as N6-methyladenosine (mA) methylation, histone modifications, DNA methylation and RNA interference, providing novel insights into the markers for clinical diagnosis, treatment and prognosis in human cancers.
Topics: Humans; Piwi-Interacting RNA; Neoplasms; Epigenesis, Genetic; DNA Methylation; RNA Interference
PubMed: 36882835
DOI: 10.1186/s12943-023-01749-3 -
Genome Biology Nov 2015The biological arms race generally involves the rapid co-evolution of anti-virus systems in host organisms and of anti-anti-virus systems in their viral parasites. The...
The biological arms race generally involves the rapid co-evolution of anti-virus systems in host organisms and of anti-anti-virus systems in their viral parasites. The CRISPR-Cas system is an example of a prokaryotic immune system in which such co-evolution occurs, as was recently demonstrated by the characterization of a set of viral anti-CRISPR proteins.
Topics: CRISPR-Cas Systems; Evolution, Molecular; Genome, Viral; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; RNA Interference; Viral Proteins
PubMed: 26553202
DOI: 10.1186/s13059-015-0820-0 -
IUBMB Life Apr 2015Cellular senescence is a stress response to a variety of extrinsic and intrinsic insults that cause genomic or epigenomic perturbations. It is now widely recognized as a... (Review)
Review
Cellular senescence is a stress response to a variety of extrinsic and intrinsic insults that cause genomic or epigenomic perturbations. It is now widely recognized as a potent tumor suppressor mechanism as well as a biological process impacting aging and organismal development. Like other cell fate decisions, senescence is executed and maintained by an intricate network of transcription factors (TFs), chromatin modifiers, and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). Altogether, these factors cooperate to implement the gene expression program that initiates and sustains the senescent phenotype. In the context of senescence, microRNAs (miRs) and long ncRNAs have been found to play regulatory roles at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. In this review, we discuss recent developments in the field and point toward future research directions to gain a better understanding of ncRNAs in senescence.
Topics: Animals; Cellular Senescence; Humans; MicroRNAs; RNA Interference; RNA, Long Noncoding
PubMed: 25990945
DOI: 10.1002/iub.1373 -
The New Phytologist Oct 2023RNA interference (RNAi) is arguably one of the more versatile mechanisms in cell biology, facilitating the fine regulation of gene expression and protection against... (Review)
Review
RNA interference (RNAi) is arguably one of the more versatile mechanisms in cell biology, facilitating the fine regulation of gene expression and protection against mobile genomic elements, whilst also constituting a key aspect of induced plant immunity. More recently, the use of this mechanism to regulate gene expression in heterospecific partners - cross-kingdom RNAi (ckRNAi) - has been shown to form a critical part of bidirectional interactions between hosts and endosymbionts, regulating the interplay between microbial infection mechanisms and host immunity. Here, we review the current understanding of ckRNAi as it relates to interactions between plants and their pathogenic and mutualistic endosymbionts, with particular emphasis on evidence in support of ckRNAi in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.
Topics: Symbiosis; Mycorrhizae; RNA Interference; Plants
PubMed: 37452489
DOI: 10.1111/nph.19122 -
Current Opinion in Plant Biology Jun 2021When an mRNA enters into the RNA degradation pathway called RNA interference (RNAi), it is cleaved into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that then target complementary... (Review)
Review
When an mRNA enters into the RNA degradation pathway called RNA interference (RNAi), it is cleaved into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that then target complementary mRNAs for destruction. The consequence of entry into RNAi is mRNA degradation, post-transcriptional silencing and in some cases transcriptional silencing. RNAi functions as a defense against transposable element and virus activity, and in plants, RNAi additionally plays a role in development by regulating some genes. However, it is unknown how specific transcripts are selected for RNAi, and how most genic mRNAs steer clear. This Current Opinion article explores the key question of how RNAs are selected for entry into RNAi, and proposes models that enable the cell to distinguish between transcripts to translate versus destroy.
Topics: DNA Transposable Elements; Plants; RNA Interference; RNA, Messenger; RNA, Small Interfering
PubMed: 33657510
DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102014 -
Plant Science : An International... Jan 2019Non-cell autonomous RNA silencing can spread from cell to cell and over long-distances in animals and plants. This process is genetically determined and requires mobile... (Review)
Review
Non-cell autonomous RNA silencing can spread from cell to cell and over long-distances in animals and plants. This process is genetically determined and requires mobile RNA signals. Genetic requirement and molecular nature of the mobile signals for non-cell-autonomous RNA silencing were intensively investigated in past few decades. No consensus dogma for mobile silencing can be reached in plants, yet published data are sometimes inconsistent and controversial. Thus, the genetic requirements and molecular signals involved in plant mobile silencing are still poorly understood. This article revisits our present understanding of intercellular and systemic non-cell autonomous RNA silencing, and summarises current debates on RNA signals for mobile silencing. In particular, we discuss new evidence on siRNA mobility, a DCL2-dependent genetic network for mobile silencing and its potential biological relevance as well as 22 nt siRNA being a mobile signal for non-cell-autonomous silencing in both Arabidopsis and Nicotiana benthamiana. This sets up a new trend in unravelling genetic components and small RNA signal molecules for mobile silencing in (across) plants and other organisms of different kingdoms. Finally we raise several outstanding questions that need to be addressed in future plant silencing research.
Topics: Cell Communication; Models, Genetic; Plants; RNA Interference
PubMed: 30471724
DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2018.10.025 -
Molecular Plant Feb 2018Fungal pathogens represent a major group of plant invaders that are the causative agents of many notorious plant diseases. Large quantities of RNAs, especially small... (Review)
Review
Fungal pathogens represent a major group of plant invaders that are the causative agents of many notorious plant diseases. Large quantities of RNAs, especially small RNAs involved in gene silencing, have been found to transmit bidirectionally between fungal pathogens and their hosts. Although host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) technology has been developed and applied to protect crops from fungal infections, the mechanisms of RNA transmission, especially small RNAs regulating trans-kingdom RNA silencing in plant immunity, are largely unknown. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent important findings regarding trans-kingdom sRNAs and RNA silencing in plant-fungal pathogen interactions compared with the well-known RNAi mechanisms in plants and fungi. We focus on the interactions between plant and fungal pathogens with broad hosts, represented by the vascular pathogen Verticillium dahliae and non-vascular pathogen Botrytis cinerea, and discuss the known instances of natural RNAi transmission between fungal pathogens and host plants. Given that HIGS has been developed and recently applied in controlling Verticillium wilt diseases, we propose an ideal research system exploiting plant vasculature-Verticillium interaction to further study trans-kingdom RNA silencing.
Topics: Botrytis; Gene Silencing; MicroRNAs; Plant Diseases; RNA Interference; RNA, Small Interfering; Verticillium
PubMed: 29229568
DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2017.12.001 -
PLoS Biology Aug 2023The human genome encodes approximately 20,000 proteins, many still uncharacterised. It has become clear that scientific research tends to focus on well-studied proteins,...
The human genome encodes approximately 20,000 proteins, many still uncharacterised. It has become clear that scientific research tends to focus on well-studied proteins, leading to a concern that poorly understood genes are unjustifiably neglected. To address this, we have developed a publicly available and customisable "Unknome database" that ranks proteins based on how little is known about them. We applied RNA interference (RNAi) in Drosophila to 260 unknown genes that are conserved between flies and humans. Knockdown of some genes resulted in loss of viability, and functional screening of the rest revealed hits for fertility, development, locomotion, protein quality control, and resilience to stress. CRISPR/Cas9 gene disruption validated a component of Notch signalling and 2 genes contributing to male fertility. Our work illustrates the importance of poorly understood genes, provides a resource to accelerate future research, and highlights a need to support database curation to ensure that misannotation does not erode our awareness of our own ignorance.
Topics: Animals; Male; Humans; Drosophila; RNA Interference; Fertility
PubMed: 37552676
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002222