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'Arc' escorts siRNAs in heterochromatin assembly

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 14, pages 178–179 (2007)Cite this article

RNA interference (RNAi) is important in directing heterochromatin assembly at centromeres in fission yeast, which is crucial for maintaining a stable genome through mitotic and meiotic divisions. In this issue, Buker et al. describe a new Argonaute siRNA chaperone (ARC) that converts duplex RNA to single-stranded RNA. This is a previously unknown step in the RNAi-directed heterochromatin-formation pathway.

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Figure 1: Model for RNAi-directed heterochromatin formation in S. pombe.

Kim Caeser

Figure 2: A new model proposed by Buker et al.16 showing the additional step in RNAi-directed heterochromatin assembly: slicing of duplex siRNA into single-stranded siRNA.

Kim Caeser

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  1. Department of Biosciences and Medical Nutrition, Karl Ekwall is at the Karolinska Institutet, School of Life Sciences, University College Södertörn, Alfred Nobel's Allé 7, 141 89 Huddinge, Sweden. karl.ekwall@sh.se,

    Karl Ekwall

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Ekwall, K. 'Arc' escorts siRNAs in heterochromatin assembly. Nat Struct Mol Biol 14, 178–179 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb0307-178

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