Department of Plant Pathology, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691, USA.
Wiley Interdiscip Rev RNA. 2010 Jul-Aug;1(1):22-33. doi: 10.1002/wrna.7. Epub 2010 May 6.
RNA interference (RNAi) and related processes serve as a nucleic-acid-mediated surveillance system conserved in almost all eukaryotic organisms. This surveillance system detects various forms of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in cells and initiates a cascade of events that degrades dsRNAs into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) or microRNAs (miRNAs). These small RNAs in turn serve as sequence-specific guides to interfere with the function of other nucleic acids through degradation or translational repression of homologous RNAs, or modification of homologous genome segments. One of the major roles of RNAi in plants and invertebrates is antiviral defense. Conversely, viruses have also evolved to encode suppressors of RNAi (VSRs), which disrupt RNAi at various steps. Research activities focusing on the relationship between plant viruses and RNAi have been essential to our current understanding of RNAi mechanisms.
RNA 干扰 (RNAi) 和相关过程作为一种在几乎所有真核生物中保守的核酸介导的监测系统发挥作用。该监测系统在细胞中检测各种形式的双链 RNA (dsRNA)，并启动一系列事件，将 dsRNA 降解成小干扰 RNA (siRNA) 或 microRNA (miRNA)。这些小 RNA 反过来又作为序列特异性的向导，通过同源 RNA 的降解或翻译抑制，或同源基因组片段的修饰，干扰其他核酸的功能。RNAi 在植物和无脊椎动物中的主要作用之一是抗病毒防御。相反，病毒也进化出了编码 RNAi 抑制剂 (VSRs) 的能力，这些抑制剂在多个步骤中断 RNAi。专注于植物病毒与 RNAi 之间关系的研究活动对于我们目前对 RNAi 机制的理解至关重要。
