Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Institute of Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Plant J. 2010 Mar;61(6):941-58. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2009.04089.x.
Small RNAs associated with post-transcriptional gene silencing were first discovered in plants in 1999. Although this study marked the beginning of small RNA biology in plants, the sequence of the Arabidopsis genome and related genomic resources that were soon to become available to the Arabidopsis community launched the research on small RNAs at a remarkable pace. In 2000, when the genetic blueprint of the first plant species was revealed, the tens of thousands of endogenous small RNA species as we know today remained hidden features of the genome. However, the subsequent 10 years have witnessed an explosion of our knowledge of endogenous small RNAs: their widespread existence, diversity, biogenesis, mode of action and biological functions. As key sequence-specific regulators of gene expression in the nucleus and the cytoplasm, small RNAs influence almost all aspects of plant biology. Because of the extensive conservation of mechanisms concerning the biogenesis and molecular actions of small RNAs, research in the model plant Arabidopsis has contributed vital knowledge to the small RNA field in general. Our knowledge of small RNAs gained primarily from Arabidopsis has also led to the invention of effective gene knock-down technologies that are applicable to diverse plant species, including crop plants. Here, I attempt to recount the developments of the small RNA field in the pre- and post-genomic era, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the completion of the first plant genome.
与转录后基因沉默相关的小 RNA 于 1999 年首次在植物中被发现。虽然这项研究标志着植物中小 RNA 生物学的开端，但拟南芥基因组序列及其相关的基因组资源的出现，使拟南芥社区的小 RNA 研究得以飞速发展。2000 年，当第一个植物物种的遗传蓝图被揭示时，我们今天所知道的数以万计的内源性小 RNA 种类仍然是基因组的隐藏特征。然而，随后的 10 年见证了我们对内源性小 RNA 的认识的爆炸式增长：它们的广泛存在、多样性、生物发生、作用模式和生物学功能。作为核和细胞质中基因表达的关键序列特异性调节剂，小 RNA 影响植物生物学的几乎所有方面。由于小 RNA 的生物发生和分子作用机制广泛保守，模式植物拟南芥的研究为小 RNA 领域的整体研究做出了重要贡献。我们主要从拟南芥中获得的小 RNA 知识也导致了有效的基因敲低技术的发明，这些技术适用于包括作物植物在内的多种植物物种。在这里，我试图回顾在基因组时代前后小 RNA 领域的发展，以庆祝第一个植物基因组完成 10 周年。
