Carbonell Alberto
Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Politécnica de Valencia), Valencia, 46022, Spain.
Methods Mol Biol. 2017;1640:1-21. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7165-7_1.
ARGONAUTEs (AGOs) are the effector proteins in eukaryotic small RNA (sRNA)-based gene silencing pathways controlling gene expression and transposon activity. In plants, AGOs regulate key biological processes such as development, response to stress, genome structure and integrity, and pathogen defense. Canonical functions of plant AGO-sRNA complexes include the endonucleolytic cleavage or translational inhibition of target RNAs and the methylation of target DNAs. Here, I provide a brief update on the major features, molecular functions, and biological roles of plant AGOs. A special focus is given to the more recent discoveries related to emerging molecular or biological functions of plant AGOs, as well as to the major unknowns in the plant AGO field.
AGO蛋白（AGO）是真核生物基于小RNA（sRNA）的基因沉默途径中的效应蛋白，可控制基因表达和转座子活性。在植物中，AGO蛋白调节关键的生物学过程，如发育、应激反应、基因组结构和完整性以及病原体防御。植物AGO-sRNA复合物的典型功能包括对靶RNA的内切核酸酶切割或翻译抑制以及对靶DNA的甲基化。在此，我简要介绍植物AGO蛋白的主要特征、分子功能和生物学作用。特别关注与植物AGO蛋白新出现的分子或生物学功能相关的最新发现，以及植物AGO领域的主要未知问题。
