内源小RNAs在植物病原体抗性反应中的作用

内源小RNAs是动植物基因表达的重要调节分子,它们可以通过指导mRNA的降解、抑制翻译或染色体修饰等机制,在转录水平或转录后水平或两个水平沉默基因.内源小RNAs在植物生长发育和生物和非生物胁迫适应反应中具有重要作用,其中3种内源性的小RNAs参与了植物基本免疫反应和对病原体的特异性免疫反应.内源小RNAs的发现为植物抗菌和抗病研究开辟了新思路,就这几种内源性的小RNAs的产生和它们在植物抗病原体反应中的作用做一概述.     

植物小RNAs及其抗胁迫机制研究进展

植物非编码小RNA(sRNAs)主要分为三类:微小RNA(m iRNAs)、小干扰RNA(siRNAs)和长小片段干扰RNA(lsiRNAs)。三者的生物合成和作用机制有所不同,但他们主要都通过介导靶mRNAs的剪切或抑制其翻译来调控基因的表达。这篇文章主要介绍小RNA研究的最新进展,并重点阐述其在非生物和生物胁迫中发挥的作用,如应对矿质元素缺乏、氧化胁迫、ABA胁迫以及病原菌入侵等生理过程。     

内源小RNAs的生物合成及其在植物发育中的作用

在真核生物中,具有20-30个核苷酸的小RNAs能够在DNA或RNA水平上广泛调控复杂生理进程.介绍植物中3种主要内源小RNAs:microRNAs、trans-acting siRNAs和heterochromatic siRNAs的生物合成及其在植物发育中的作用.     

Small nucleolar RNAs

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are an abundant class of non-protein-coding RNAs. In association with proteins they perform two most frequent nucleotide modifications in rRNAs and some other cellular RNAs: 2'-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridylation. SnoRNAs also participate in pre-rRNA cleavage and telomerase functions. Most snoRNAs fall into two families, box C/D and H/ACA, distinguished by the presence of conserved sequence boxes. Although C/D and H/ACA snoRNP proteins contain homologous regions, the assembly of these RNPs significantly differ. In addition, snoRNAs include the RNA component of RNAses P and MRP. The structure and function of small RNPs from Cajal bodies (small organelles associated with nucleoli) similar to snoRNP are also discussed.     

植物小分子RNA研究进展

植物体内存在多种不同类型的小分子RNA(small RNA,sRNA),在调节植物生长发育、抑制转座子活性和抵御逆境等过程中发挥着重要的作用。近年来,人们在sRNA的产生机制、效应复合物的形成和对靶基因的调控方式及其生物学功能等方面的研究取得了很大进展。该文对这些进展作简要介绍。     

细菌中的小RNA

小RNA（sRNA）或非编码RNA（ncRNA）在原核生物和真核生物中广泛分布。迄今,在各种细菌中共发现超过150种sRNA,在大肠杆菌中发现了约80种sRNA。sRNA通过与靶mRNA配对而发生作用,导致mRNA翻译和稳定性的变化;sRNA的功能涉及从结构调节到催化作用,影响生物体内各种各样的加工过程,一个单独的sRNA就能调控大量的基因并对细胞生理产生深远影响。目前,对sRNA的研究主要采用生物信息学预测结合分子生物学实验的方法。     

Small RNAs and cancerogenesis

Disturbances of microRNA generation and functioning as inhibitors of gene expression at the translational level are considered as specific and diagnostic features of cancer. This review also highlights the role of short interfering RNA (siRNA) in modified epigenomic chromatin structure, which may cause cancer transformation. Future directions of cancer epigenomics are considered in the light of the involvement of siRNA in epigenomic modification of chromatin.     

Small RNAs in pollen

In plants, each pollen mother cell undergoes two rounds of cell divisions to form a mature pollen grain, which contains a vegetative cell(VC) and two sperm cells(SC). As a companion cell, the VC carries the SCs to an ovule by germinating a pollen tube. In-depth sequencing analyses of mature pollen showed that micro RNAs(mi RNAs) and short interfering RNAs(si RNAs) are present in both the VC and SCs. Additionally, epigenetically-regulated transposable elements(TEs) are reactivated in the VC and these TE m RNAs are further processed into 21-nt epigenetically reactivated si RNA(easiR NA) in SCs, which prevent 24-nt si RNA accumulation and sequester mi RNA loading. Small RNAs are thought to move from the VC to SCs, where they regulate gene expression and reinforce TE silencing. Here, we summarize current knowledge of the biogenesis and function of mi RNAs, si RNAs, and easi RNAs in pollen, emphasizing how these different small RNAs coordinately contribute to sperm cell formation and TE silencing.     

Small RNAs derived from snoRNAs

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) guide RNA modification and are localized in nucleoli and Cajal bodies in eukaryotic cells. Components of the RNA silencing pathway associate with these structures, and two recent reports have revealed that a human and a protozoan snoRNA can be processed into miRNA-like RNAs. Here we show that small RNAs with evolutionary conservation of size and position are derived from the vast majority of snoRNA loci in animals (human, mouse, chicken, fruit fly), Arabidopsis, and fission yeast. In animals, sno-derived RNAs (sdRNAs) from H/ACA snoRNAs are predominantly 20–24 nucleotides (nt) in length and originate from the 3′ end. Those derived from C/D snoRNAs show a bimodal size distribution at ∼17–19 nt and >27 nt and predominantly originate from the 5′ end. SdRNAs are associated with AGO7 in Arabidopsis and Ago1 in fission yeast with characteristic 5′ nucleotide biases and show altered expression patterns in fly loquacious and Dicer-2 and mouse Dicer1 and Dgcr8 mutants. These findings indicate that there is interplay between the RNA silencing and snoRNA-mediated RNA processing systems, and that sdRNAs comprise a novel and ancient class of small RNAs in eukaryotes.     

Cellular Dynamics of Small RNAs

ABSTRACT

This review highlights the unexpectedly complicated nuclear egress and nuclear import of small RNAs. Although nucleus/cytoplasm trafficking was thought to be restricted to snRNAs of many, but not all, eukaryotes, recent data indicate that such traffic may be more common than previously appreciated. First, in conflict with numerous previous reports, new information indicates that Saccharomyces cerevisiae snRNAs may cycle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Second, recent studies also provide evidence that other small RNAs that function exclusively in the nucleus—the budding yeast telomerase RNA and possibly small nucleolar RNAs—may exit to the cytoplasm, only to return to the nucleus. Third, nucleus/cytoplasm cycling of RNAs also occurs for RNAs that function solely in the cytoplasm, as it has been discovered that cytoplasmic tRNAs of budding yeast travel “retrograde” to the nucleus and, perhaps, back again to the cytoplasm to function in protein synthesis. Fourth, there is at least one example in ciliates of small double-stranded RNAs traveling multiple cycles between the cytoplasm and distinct nuclei to direct genome structure. This report discusses data that support or argue against nucleus/cytoplasm bidirectional movement for each category of small RNA and the possible roles that such movement may serve.     

小RNA分子研究进展

在过去很长的一段时间内,RNA始终没有得到科学家足够的重视,直到非编码性小RNA（non—coding small RNA）的出现,使得研究者对RNA功能的传统观念发生了惊人的改变。生命体内存在着大量的miRNA、siRNA与piRNA,它们在不同水平上调节着基因的表达,影响生命活动。另外一些较长的非编码RNA广泛地参与到细胞内不同的生化过程中。发挥重要作用。随着小分子RNA的发现至今,RNA的研究领域进入炙手可热的状态,RNAi的机制在一步步被完善与深化．更多新类型的小分子RNA被发现。在应用方面,siRNA已经成为分子生物学实验中一种简单而有效的基因沉默工具,并且在人类疾病治疗方面初有成效。     

Small RNAs of Tetrahymena thermophila

Highly purified nuclear and cytoplasmic RNAs were obtained from Tetrahymena thermophila BVII containing only a minimal amount of cross-contamination. In the nuclear RNA fraction we have detected at least 6 distinct snRNAs. Some of the RNA species showed microheterogeneity. SnRNAs of Tetrahymena thermophila are very similar to rat snRNAs, as far as length is concerned. Our cytoplasmic small RNA fraction contained two RNAs, 7S and T7, reported recently (18) as nuclear, particularly nucleolar RNAs. Moreover, we could detect only one cytoplasmic small RNA species Tc1, Tc2 was not observed.Neither the nuclear nor the cytoplasmic small RNA species are degradation products of ribosomal RNA as was shown by Northern blotting and following hybridization with pGY17 containing the entire transcribed region of the ribosomal DNA of Tetrahymena thermophila.