Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA.
Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2011 Oct;14(5):588-93. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2011.07.003. Epub 2011 Jul 30.
Germline development and early embryogenesis in eukaryotes are characterized by large-scale genome reprogramming events. In companion cells of the Arabidopsis male gametophyte, epigenome reorganization leads to loss of heterochromatin and production of a distinct small RNA (sRNA) population. A specific class of sRNA derived from transposons appears to be mobile and can accumulate in germ cells. In the germline of maize, rice, and Arabidopsis, specific ARGONAUTE-sRNA silencing complexes appear to play key roles in reproductive development, including meiosis and regulation of germ cell fate. These results reveal new roles for sRNAs during plant reproduction and suggest that mobility of sRNAs could be critical for some of these functions.
真核生物的生殖细胞发育和早期胚胎发生的特点是大规模的基因组重编程事件。在拟南芥雄性配子体的伴胞中，表观基因组的重排导致异染色质的丢失和特定小 RNA（sRNA）群体的产生。一类特定的源自转座子的 sRNA 似乎是可移动的，并可以在生殖细胞中积累。在玉米、水稻和拟南芥的生殖细胞中，特定的 ARGONAUTE-sRNA 沉默复合物似乎在生殖发育中发挥关键作用，包括减数分裂和生殖细胞命运的调控。这些结果揭示了 sRNAs 在植物生殖过程中的新作用，并表明 sRNAs 的移动性可能对其中一些功能至关重要。
