Welcome to RNAi Gateway
From humble beginnings as an obscure phenomenon in plants, RNA interference (RNAi) has evolved into an area of significant impact in numerous fields. This RNAi Gateway provides a convenient portal into publications relevant to every aspect of RNAi from journals throughout the Nature Publishing Group.
Latest Highlight
A new type of small interfering RNA in fungus FREE
Nature, 14 May 2009
Lui and colleagues have now discovered a new type of endogenously produced small RNA in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. These new RNAs, called qiRNAs because of their interaction with the Argonaute protein QDE-2, are about 20-21 nucleotides long - a few nucleotides shorter than known endogenous Neurospora small interfering RNAs. In addition, the first nucleotide of the 5' end of qiRNAs is often a uridine, similar to small RNAs that associate with the Argonaute protein PIWI in animals. DNA damage induces the formation of aberrant RNAs that are processed into qiRNAs by the combined activities of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase QDE-1, the Werner and Bloom RecQ DNA helicase homologue QDE-3, and the RNA endonuclease DICER. Neurospora RNA interference mutants showed increased sensitivity to DNA damage, suggesting that qiRNAs have a role in the response to spontaneous DNA damage.
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Find out what's new in RNAi by browsing research reports, reviews, news and comment — all conveniently collected here from Nature Publishing Group's wide range of journals. To select the very latest developments by category, click on any of the links below.
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Podcast
30 October 2008
Tune in to find out more about the expanding world of small RNAs. Get the low-down on where we find them, what we know (and don't know) about what they do and even how they evolved.
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