Cloning of novel repeat-associated small RNAs derived from hairpin precursors in Oryza sativa

Plant small non-coding RNAs including microRNAs （miRNAs）, small interfering RNAs （siRNAs） and trans-acting siRNAs, play important roles in modulating gene expression in cells. Here we isolated 21 novel endogenous small RNA molecules, ranging from 18 to 24 nucleotides, in Oryza sativa that can be mapped to 111 hairpin precursors. Further analysis indicated that most of these hairpin sequences originated from putative miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements, a major type of DNA transposon. Considering that miRNA is characteristic of hairpin-like precursor and plant endogenous siRNAs are often located at transposon regions, we hypothesized that our cloned small RNAs might represent the intermediate product in the evolutionary process between siRNAs and miRNAs. Northern blot analysis indicated that five of them were much more abundantly expressed in flower compared to other tissues, implying their potential function in inflorescence. In conclusion, our results enrich rice small RNA data and provide a meaningful perspective for small RNA annotation in plants.     

Sorting of Drosophila small silencing RNAs partitions microRNA* strands into the RNA interference pathway

In flies, small silencing RNAs are sorted between Argonaute1 (Ago1), the central protein component of the microRNA (miRNA) pathway, and Argonaute2 (Ago2), which mediates RNA interference. Extensive double-stranded character—as is found in small interfering RNAs (siRNAs)—directs duplexes into Ago2, whereas central mismatches, like those found in miRNA/miRNA* duplexes, direct duplexes into Ago1. Central to this sorting decision is the affinity of the small RNA duplex for the Dcr-2/R2D2 heterodimer, which loads small RNAs into Ago2. Here, we show that while most Drosophila miRNAs are bound to Ago1, miRNA* strands accumulate bound to Ago2. Like siRNA loading, efficient loading of miRNA* strands in Ago2 favors duplexes with a paired central region and requires both Dcr-2 and R2D2. Those miRNA and miRNA* sequences bound to Ago2, like siRNAs diced in vivo from long double-stranded RNA, typically begin with cytidine, whereas Ago1-bound miRNA and miRNA* disproportionately begin with uridine. Consequently, some pre-miRNA generate two or more isoforms from the same side of the stem that differentially partition between Ago1 and Ago2. Our findings provide the first genome-wide test for the idea that Drosophila small RNAs are sorted between Ago1 and Ago2 according to their duplex structure and the identity of their first nucleotide.     

miRNA的研究进展

近来,人类发现了一些不同种类的小RNA分子,其中miRNA是人类新发现的一类小RNA,它在进化上具有保守性,在数量、序列、结构、表达和功能上具有多样性.目前,大约已发现了100多种miRNA,它们存在于不同的生物中,从四膜虫、线虫、植物、动物到人都已发现了不同的miRNA.miRNA的主要功能是调节内源基因表达,它在基因活动调控网络中扮演了重要的角色.miRNA与siRNA关系密切,它们既具有相似性,又具有差异性.小RNA分子研究将是今后分子生物学的研究热点之一.     

Diversity of endogenous small non-coding RNAs in Oryza sativa

Small non-coding RNAs play important roles in regulating cell functions by controlling mRNA turnover and translational repression in eukaryotic cells. Here we isolated 162 endogenous small RNA molecules from Oryza sativa, which ranged from 16 to 35 nt in length. Further analysis indicated that they represented a diversity of small RNA molecules, including 17 microRNAs (miRNAs), 30 tiny non-coding RNAs (tncRNAs) and 20 repeat-associated small interfering RNAs (rasiRNAs). Among 17 miRNAs, 13 were novel miRNA candidates and their potential targets were important regulatory genes in the rice genome. We also found that a cluster of small RNAs, including many rasiRNAs, matched to a nuclear DNA fragment that evolutionarily derived from chloroplast. These results demonstrate clearly the existence of distinct types of small RNAs in rice and further suggest that small RNAs may control gene regulation through diverse mechanisms.     

A deeply conserved,noncanonical miRNA hosted by ribosomal DNA

Advances in small RNA sequencing technologies and comparative genomics have fueled comprehensive microRNA (miRNA) gene annotations in humans and model organisms. Although new miRNAs continue to be discovered in recent years, these have universally been lowly expressed, recently evolved, and of debatable endogenous activity, leading to the general assumption that virtually all biologically important miRNAs have been identified. Here, we analyzed small RNAs that emanate from the highly repetitive rDNA arrays of Drosophila. In addition to endo-siRNAs derived from sense and antisense strands of the pre-rRNA sequence, we unexpectedly identified a novel, deeply conserved, noncanonical miRNA. Although this miRNA is widely expressed, this miRNA was not identified by previous studies due to bioinformatics filters removing such repetitive sequences. Deep-sequencing data provide clear evidence for specific processing with precisely defined 5′ and 3′ ends. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the mature miRNA species is incorporated in the effector complexes and has detectable trans regulatory activity. Processing of this miRNA requires Dicer-1, whereas the Drosha–Pasha complex is dispensable. The miRNA hairpin sequence is located in the internal transcribed spacer 1 region of rDNA and is highly conserved among Dipteran species that were separated from their common ancestor ∼100 million years ago. Our results suggest that biologically active miRNA genes may remain unidentified even in well-studied organisms.