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Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 15, 546–548 (1 June 2008) | doi:10.1038/nsmb0608-546

Endo-siRNAs: yet another layer of complexity in RNA silencing

Timothy W Nilsen

The world of small-RNA silencing phenomena has just become markedly larger with the recent publication of seven complementary papers (five in Nature, one in Science and one in this issue of Nature Structural & Molecular Biology) that collectively document an additional silencing pathway in Drosophila melanogaster and mammals. This pathway involves the synthesis and processing of endogenous double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) to yield functional small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that serve to silence transposable elements in both germ cells and somatic tissues, and some specific mRNAs.