Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Nov 7;24(22):16054. doi: 10.3390/ijms242216054.
ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins are key components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) that mediates gene silencing in eukaryotes. Small-RNA (sRNA) cargoes are selectively loaded into different members of the AGO protein family and then target complementary sequences to in-duce transcriptional repression, mRNA cleavage, or translation inhibition. Previous reviews have mainly focused on the traditional roles of AGOs in specific biological processes or on the molecular mechanisms of sRNA sorting. In this review, we summarize the biological significance of canonical sRNA loading, including the balance among distinct sRNA pathways, cross-regulation of different RISC activities during plant development and defense, and, especially, the emerging roles of AGOs in sRNA movement. We also discuss recent advances in novel non-canonical functions of plant AGOs. Perspectives for future functional studies of this evolutionarily conserved eukaryotic protein family will facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the multi-faceted AGO proteins.
ARGONAUTE (AGO) 蛋白是 RNA 诱导沉默复合物 (RISC) 的关键组成部分，在真核生物中介导基因沉默。小 RNA (sRNA) 货物被选择性地装载到 AGO 蛋白家族的不同成员中，然后靶向互补序列来诱导转录抑制、mRNA 切割或翻译抑制。以前的综述主要集中在 AGO 在特定生物过程中的传统作用或 sRNA 分类的分子机制上。在这篇综述中，我们总结了典型 sRNA 加载的生物学意义，包括不同 sRNA 途径之间的平衡、植物发育和防御过程中不同 RISCs 活性的交叉调控，特别是 AGO 在 sRNA 运动中的新兴作用。我们还讨论了植物 AGO 新的非典型功能的最新进展。对这个进化上保守的真核蛋白家族进行未来功能研究的展望将有助于更全面地理解具有多方面功能的 AGO 蛋白。
