Institut de biologie moléculaire des plantes (IBMP), Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Université de Strasbourg, 12 rue Zimmer, 67000 Strasbourg, France
Laboratory of RNA Biology and Functional Genomics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pawinskiego 5a, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2018 Nov 5;373(1762):20180160. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0160.
RNA degradation is a key process in the regulation of gene expression. In all organisms, RNA degradation participates in controlling coding and non-coding RNA levels in response to developmental and environmental cues. RNA degradation is also crucial for the elimination of defective RNAs. Those defective RNAs are mostly produced by 'mistakes' made by the RNA processing machinery during the maturation of functional transcripts from their precursors. The constant control of RNA quality prevents potential deleterious effects caused by the accumulation of aberrant non-coding transcripts or by the translation of defective messenger RNAs (mRNAs). Prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms are also under the constant threat of attacks from pathogens, mostly viruses, and one common line of defence involves the ribonucleolytic digestion of the invader's RNA. Finally, mutations in components involved in RNA degradation are associated with numerous diseases in humans, and this together with the multiplicity of its roles illustrates the biological importance of RNA degradation. RNA degradation is mostly viewed as a default pathway: any functional RNA (including a successful pathogenic RNA) must be protected from the scavenging RNA degradation machinery. Yet, this protection must be temporary, and it will be overcome at one point because the ultimate fate of any cellular RNA is to be eliminated. This special issue focuses on modifications deposited at the 5' or the 3' extremities of RNA, and how these modifications control RNA stability or degradation.This article is part of the theme issue '5' and 3' modifications controlling RNA degradation'.
RNA 降解是基因表达调控的关键过程。在所有生物体中，RNA 降解参与了编码和非编码 RNA 水平的调控，以响应发育和环境线索。RNA 降解对于有缺陷 RNA 的消除也至关重要。这些有缺陷的 RNA 主要是由 RNA 加工机器在从其前体成熟功能性转录本时产生的“错误”产生的。不断控制 RNA 的质量可以防止异常非编码转录本的积累或有缺陷的信使 RNA(mRNA)翻译所造成的潜在有害影响。原核和真核生物也经常受到病原体（主要是病毒）的攻击，一种常见的防御机制是核糖核酸酶消化入侵 RNA。最后，参与 RNA 降解的成分发生突变与人类的许多疾病有关，这与它的多种作用一起说明了 RNA 降解的生物学重要性。RNA 降解大多被视为一种默认途径：任何功能性 RNA（包括成功的致病 RNA）都必须免受 RNA 降解机制的清除。然而，这种保护必须是暂时的，它将在某个时候被克服，因为任何细胞 RNA 的最终命运都是被消除。本期特刊重点关注 RNA 5'或 3'末端的修饰，以及这些修饰如何控制 RNA 的稳定性或降解。本文是“5'和 3'修饰控制 RNA 降解”主题特刊的一部分。
