Yale Stem Cell Center and Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2011 Sep 1;3(9):a002717. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a002717.
Small noncoding RNAs have emerged as potent regulators of gene expression, especially in the germline. We review the biogenesis and regulatory function of three major small noncoding RNA pathways in the germline: The small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway that leads to the degradation of target mRNAs, the microRNA (miRNA) pathway that mostly represses the translation of target mRNAs, and the newly discovered Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway that appears to have diverse functions in epigenetic programming, transposon silencing, and the regulation of mRNA translation and stability. The siRNA and miRNA pathways are present in the germline as well as many somatic tissues, whereas the piRNA pathway is predominantly confined to the germline. Investigation of the three small RNA pathways has started to reveal a new dimension of gene regulation with defining roles in germline specification and development.
小非编码 RNA 已成为基因表达的有效调控因子，尤其是在生殖系中。我们综述了生殖系中三种主要小非编码 RNA 途径的生物发生和调控功能：导致靶 mRNA 降解的小干扰 RNA (siRNA)途径、主要抑制靶 mRNA 翻译的 microRNA (miRNA)途径，以及新发现的 Piwi 相互作用 RNA (piRNA)途径，该途径似乎在表观遗传编程、转座子沉默以及 mRNA 翻译和稳定性的调控中具有多种功能。siRNA 和 miRNA 途径不仅存在于生殖系中，也存在于许多体细胞组织中，而 piRNA 途径主要局限于生殖系。对这三种小 RNA 途径的研究已经开始揭示基因调控的一个新维度，它们在生殖系的特化和发育中具有明确的作用。
