RNA干涉在提高植物营养价值上的应用

RNA干涉(RNAi)是由具同源性的外源dsRNA引起的序列特异性转录后基因沉默现象,广泛存在于各种动、植物中。人类大多数疾病,像心脏病和癌症,都能够通过食用添加具有特殊营养成分养的饮食来预防。应用RNAi技术可为人和动物提高植物的营养价值。     

猪卵母细胞c-mos基因表达以及RNA干扰

c-mos基因在动物卵母细胞减数分裂调控中起作用,但其作用机制目前仍不清楚。本实验通过RT-PCR、免疫荧光激光共聚焦检测方法检测了猪卵母细胞在体外成熟培养过程中c-mos基因在转录水平、翻译水平上的表达以及蛋白的分布,并应用注射小干扰RNA(siRNA)方法对其进行了RNA干扰(RNAi)研究。结果显示,猪卵母细胞在体外成熟培养过程中c-mos基因mRNA量逐渐增高,电激活后6h接近完全降解;MOS(c-mos基因蛋白产物)在GV卵母细胞生发泡中有一定量的表达,生发泡破裂(GVBD)前表达量增加且开始向卵母细胞胞质弥散,成熟培养44h未成熟卵母细胞中的MOS表达量要高于成熟卵母细胞,激活后6h核区MOS明显减少,但仍然有少量MOS分布于胞质中;成熟培养前干扰c-mos基因,所用三个siRNA都能成功敲低mRNA量,分别是同时期对照组mRNA量的0.08±0.03,0.11±0.06和0.20±0.06倍,干扰后虽然没有完全剔除MOS,但MOS量比同期卵母细胞有明显下降,仍可以引发成熟卵母细胞染色体解凝集。研究结果揭示了猪卵母细胞体外成熟及发育进程中c-mos基因在转录和翻译水平上的动态表达规律,建立了猪卵母细胞c-mos基因RNAi体系,为MOS在猪卵母细胞发育过程中的功能研究建立了重要的基础。     

A hypothermic-temperature-sensitive gene silencing by the mammalian RNAi

RNA interference (RNAi) has been attracting a great deal of attention. This pathway is highly conserved among most eukaryotes and believed to be important for antiviral reactions and epigenetic gene regulation. Because a temperature-sensitive RNAi was reported in both plant and insect systems, suggesting its evolutional conservation, we analyzed the effect of different temperatures on mammalian RNAi, targeting the ectopic gene expression, and detected suppression at hypothermic temperatures. This phenomenon could be critical and useful to control ectopic and internal gene expressions by RNAi.     

Intensive RNAi with lentiviral vectors in mammalian cells

RNAi is a powerful technology for analyzing gene function in human cells. However, its utility can be compromised by inadequate knockdown of the target mRNA or by interpretation of effects without rigorous controls. We review lentiviral vector-based methods that enable transient or stable knockdowns to trace mRNA levels in human CD4+ T cell lines and other targets. Critical controls are reviewed, including rescue of the pre-knockdown phenotype by re-expression of the targeted gene. The time from thinking about a potential knockdown target to analysis of phenotypes can be as short as a few weeks.     

High-throughput RNAi screening in mammalian cells with esiRNAs

The development of advanced functional genomic tools has paved the way for systematic investigations of biological processes in health and disease. In particular, the implementation of RNA interference (RNAi) as a genome-wide, loss-of-function screening tool has enabled scientists to probe the role for every gene in cellular assays and many new factors for various processes have been discovered employing RNAi screens in recent years. However, the results also demonstrate the complexity of biological systems and indicate that we are still a long way from understanding functional networks in depth. Nevertheless, RNAi screens present a powerful method to interrogate gene function in high-throughput and different methods to elicit RNAi in mammalian cells have been developed. Here, we describe steps that should be considered when planning an RNAi screen employing endoribonuclease prepared (e)siRNAs. We provide useful information on how to implement the screen and analyze the results. Furthermore, we discuss strategies for hit validation and present an outline on how to follow-up on verified hits to gain a molecular understanding of the underlying phenotypes.     

Dual regulation of hepatitis C viral RNA by cellular RNAi requires partitioning of Ago2 to lipid droplets and P-bodies

The antiviral role of RNA interference (RNAi) in humans remains to be better understood. In RNAi, Ago2 proteins and microRNAs (miRNAs) or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) form endonucleolytically active complexes which down-regulate expression of target mRNAs. P-bodies, cytoplasmic centers of mRNA decay, are involved in these pathways. Evidence exists that hepatitis C virus (HCV) utilizes host cellular RNAi machinery, including miRNA-122, Ago1-4, and Dicer proteins for replication and viral genome translation in Huh7 cells by, so far, nebulous mechanisms. Conversely, synthetic siRNAs have been used to suppress HCV replication. Here, using a combination of biochemical, transfection, confocal imaging, and digital image analysis approaches, we reveal that replication of HCV RNA depends on recruitment of Ago2 and miRNA-122 to lipid droplets, while suppression of HCV RNA by siRNA and Ago2 involves interaction with P-bodies. Such partitioning of Ago2 proteins into different complexes and separate subcellular domains likely results in modulation of their activity by different reaction partners. We propose a model in which partitioning of host RNAi and viral factors into physically and functionally distinct subcellular compartments emerges as a mechanism regulating the dual interaction of cellular RNAi with HCV RNA.     

The evolution and diversification of Dicers in plants

Most multicellular organisms regulate developmental transitions by microRNAs, which are generated by an enzyme, Dicer. Insects and fungi have two Dicer-like genes, and many animals have only one, yet the plant, Arabidopsis, has four. Examining the poplar and rice genomes revealed that they contain five and six Dicer-like genes, respectively. Analysis of these genes suggests that plants require a basic set of four Dicer types which were present before the divergence of mono- and dicotyledonous plants ( approximately 200 million years ago), but after the divergence of plants from green algae. A fifth type of Dicer seems to have evolved in monocots.     

RNAi 在植物功能基因组中的应用

植物生物学后基因组时代的主要目标就是确定植物基因组中所有基因所具有的功能。解决这个问题的一个最直接的方法就是还原或者敲除某个在正常条件下其功能能表达出一定的可观察到的表型的特殊基因。对于这方面的研究,插入突变技术就是一个可用的工具,但是基因的随机性,致死敲除,无标记的突变体都大大地限制了这种技术的利用。RNm技术可以克服以上那些难题。它已经被广泛地应用在线虫的功能基因组上,并且所获得的有效资源还被广泛地用于植物功能基因组的分析。     

The role of miRNAs and endogenous siRNAs in maternal‐to‐zygotic reprogramming and the establishment of pluripotency

RNA silencing is a complex of mechanisms that regulate gene expression through small RNA molecules. The microRNA (miRNA) pathway is the most common of these in mammals. Genome‐encoded miRNAs suppress translation in a sequence‐specific manner and facilitate shifts in gene expression during developmental transitions. Here, we discuss the role of miRNAs in oocyte‐to‐zygote transition and in the control of pluripotency. Existing data suggest a common principle involving miRNAs in defining pluripotent and differentiated cells. RNA silencing pathways also rapidly evolve, resulting in many unique features of RNA silencing in different taxonomic groups. This is exemplified in the mouse model of oocyte‐to‐zygote transition, in which the endogenous RNA interference pathway has acquired a novel role in regulating protein‐coding genes, while the miRNA pathway has become transiently suppressed.     

RNAi技术在转基因动物中的应用

RNAi可以作为一种有效的工具用来产生转录后沉默的效果,从而抑制特定基因的表达,已经在线虫、果蝇、小鼠、大鼠等模式生物中得到成功应用。RNAi转基因小鼠的出现,使得在哺乳动物整体水平研究靶基因的敲低成为可能。文章以RNAi转基因小鼠为代表,就转基因载体的设计策略、基因敲除与基因敲低的比较、RNAi转基因动物的优势以及目前存在的缺陷等作一总结,并展望了RNAi转基因动物对功能基因组研究的贡献以及应用前景。