Review
Cell Research (2001) 11, 181–186. doi:10.1038/sj.cr.7290084
Gene silencing: Double-stranded RNA mediated mRNA degradation and gene inactivation
Wei TANG1, Xiao Yan LUO2 and Vanessa SANMUELS1
- 1North Carolina State University, Forest Biotechnology Group, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
- 2University of North Carolina, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Correspondence: Tang WEI, Tel: (919)-515-7800; Fax: (919)-515-7801; E-mail: wtang@unity.ncsu.edu
Abstract
The recent development of gene transfer approaches in plants and animals has revealed that transgene can undergo silencing after integration in the genome. Host genes can also be silenced as a consequence of the presence of a homologous transgene. More and more investigations have demonstrated that double-stranded RNA can silence genes by triggering degradation of homologous RNA in the cytoplasm and by directing methylation of homologous nuclear DNA sequences. Analyses of Arabidopsis mutants and plant viral suppressors of silencing are unraveling RNA-silencing mechanisms and are assessing the role of methylation in transcriptional and posttranscriptional gene silencing. This review will focus on double-stranded RNA mediated mRNA degradation and gene inactivation in plants.
Keywords:
Gene silencing, double-stranded RNA, methylation, homologous RNA, transgene
Abbreviations:
dsRNA, double-stranded RNA; HC-Pro, helper component proteinase; HDGS, homology-dependent gene silencing; IR, inverted repeat; NMD, nonsense-mediated decay; PTGS, posttranscriptional gene silencing; PVX, potato virus X; RdDM, RNA-directed DNA methylation; RdRP, RNA-directed RNA polymerase; SMG, suppressor with morphogenetic effect on genitalia; TGS, transcriptional gene silencing
