Arora Rajika, Brun Catherine M C, Azzalin Claus M
Institute of Biochemistry, ETHZ-Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, CH-8093, Zürich, Switzerland.
Prog Mol Subcell Biol. 2011;51:65-94. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16502-3_4.
Telomeres protect the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes from being recognized as DNA double-stranded breaks, thereby maintaining the stability of our genome. The highly heterochromatic nature of telomeres had, for a long time, reinforced the idea that telomeres were transcriptionally silent. Since a few years, however, we know that DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II transcribes telomeric DNA into TElomeric Repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) molecules in a large variety of eukaryotes. In this chapter, we summarize the current knowledge of telomere structure and function and extensively review data accumulated on TERRA biogenesis and regulation. We also discuss putative functions of TERRA in preserving telomere stability and propose future directions for research encompassing this novel and exciting aspect of telomere biology.
端粒保护线性真核染色体的末端不被识别为DNA双链断裂，从而维持我们基因组的稳定性。长期以来，端粒高度异染色质的性质强化了端粒转录沉默的观点。然而，近年来我们了解到，在多种真核生物中，依赖DNA的RNA聚合酶II将端粒DNA转录成含端粒重复序列的RNA（TERRA）分子。在本章中，我们总结了目前关于端粒结构和功能的知识，并广泛回顾了在TERRA生物合成和调控方面积累的数据。我们还讨论了TERRA在维持端粒稳定性方面的假定功能，并提出了围绕端粒生物学这一新颖且令人兴奋的方面的未来研究方向。
