昆虫RNAi通路及其核心元件的研究综述

RNAi作为分子生物学的一种重要技术,在昆虫基因功能和功能基因组研究中得到广泛应用,同时,有关昆虫RNAi的机制也受到了大家的关注。近年来的研究结果表明,昆虫RNAi的通路与其他动物相同,根据引起基因沉默的RNA分子的类型,可以分为siRNA、miRNA和piRNA 3种不同的通路。昆虫RNAi通路中的核心元件包括了:(1)行使切割作用的RNaseⅢ家族成员Drosha和Dicer;(2)用来降解目的 mRNA的Argonaute蛋白;(3)dsRNA结合蛋白Pasha、R2D2和Loquacious。了解昆虫RNAi的通路及其核心元件,有助于我们更好地理解昆虫RNAi的分子机制和改进实现RNAi的方法,对促进昆虫RNAi技术的研究及其在害虫防控中的应用具有指导意义。

Review of RNAi pathways and their core components in insects

As one of the key technologies in molecular biology, RNA interference (RNAi) has been widely applied to the study of functional genes and genomes in insects. In addition, the underlying mechanism of RNAi in insects has been the subject of extensive research interest. Recent results indicate that RNAi pathways in insects are similar to those in other animals, including the siRNA, miRNA and piRNA pathways with different RNA molecules that trigger gene silence. The core components of insect RNAi pathways are (1) Drosha and Dicer of the RNase Ⅲ family that have the function of cutting dsRNA, (2) Argonaute protein degrading mRNA, and (3) the dsRNA binding proteins Pasha, R2D2 and Loquacious. This article presents an overview of research on RNAi pathways and their core components in insects in order to further understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying these pathways and promote theoretical studies of insect RNAi and the practical application of this novel technology in pest management.