Watson School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
Nat Rev Genet. 2020 May;21(5):311-331. doi: 10.1038/s41576-019-0203-6. Epub 2020 Feb 12.
RNA interference (RNAi), a cellular process through which small RNAs target and regulate complementary RNA transcripts, has well-characterized roles in post-transcriptional gene regulation and transposon repression. Recent studies have revealed additional conserved roles for RNAi proteins, such as Argonaute and Dicer, in chromosome function. By guiding chromatin modification, RNAi components promote chromosome segregation during both mitosis and meiosis and regulate chromosomal and genomic dosage response. Small RNAs and the RNAi machinery also participate in the resolution of DNA damage. Interestingly, many of these lesser-studied functions seem to be more strongly conserved across eukaryotes than are well-characterized functions such as the processing of microRNAs. These findings have implications for the evolution of RNAi since the last eukaryotic common ancestor, and they provide a more complete view of the functions of RNAi.
RNA 干扰 (RNAi) 是一种细胞过程，通过该过程，小分子 RNA 靶向并调节互补的 RNA 转录本，在转录后基因调控和转座子抑制中具有明确的作用。最近的研究揭示了 RNAi 蛋白（如 Argonaute 和 Dicer）在染色体功能中的其他保守作用。通过指导染色质修饰，RNAi 成分在有丝分裂和减数分裂期间促进染色体分离，并调节染色体和基因组剂量反应。小 RNA 和 RNAi 机制也参与 DNA 损伤的修复。有趣的是，这些研究较少的功能似乎比 miRNA 加工等特征功能在真核生物中更为保守。这些发现对 RNAi 的进化具有重要意义，因为它们提供了 RNAi 功能的更完整视图。
