Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for microRNA Biology and Biotechnology; State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology; School of Life Sciences; Nanjing University; Nanjing, P.R. China.
RNA Biol. 2013 Mar;10(3):367-70. doi: 10.4161/rna.23663. Epub 2013 Jan 30.
Communication between cells ensures coordinated behavior. In prokaryotes, this signaling is typically referred to as quorum sensing, whereas in eukaryotic cells, communication occurs through hormones. In recent years, reports have shown that small noncoding RNAs, called microRNAs (miRNAs), can be transmitted from one species to another, inducing signal interference in distant species, even in a cross-kingdom manner. This new mode of cross-species communication might mediate symbiotic and pathogenic relationships between various organisms (e.g., microorganisms and their hosts). Here, we discuss several recent studies concerning miRNA-mediated cross-species gene regulation.
细胞间的通讯确保了协调的行为。在原核生物中,这种信号通常被称为群体感应,而在真核细胞中,通讯是通过激素进行的。近年来,有报道称,称为 microRNAs(miRNAs)的小非编码 RNA 可以从一个物种传播到另一个物种,在遥远的物种中诱导信号干扰,甚至以跨域的方式。这种新的跨物种通讯模式可能介导各种生物体(例如微生物及其宿主)之间的共生和致病关系。在这里,我们讨论了几项关于 miRNA 介导的跨物种基因调控的最新研究。