MicroRNA Shows Macro Potential
Courtesy of Bonnie Bartel and David P. Bartel Reprinted from Plant Physiol, 132:1-9, June 2003. CURRENT MODEL: (A) A microRNA (MIR) gene encodes a primary transcript with a stem-loop structure. A hairpin precursor (in brackets) has been found in animals but not in plants. The enzyme Dicer cleaves the transcript to form a microRNA (miRNA) which nestles in a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex that is similar, if not identical, to the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). (B) When an mRNA has n
Jun 15, 2003
Courtesy of Bonnie Bartel and David P. Bartel Reprinted from Plant Physiol, 132:1-9, June 2003. |
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The RNA paradigm is due for another correction. Once, RNA seemed a mere conduit between genes and proteins. Its status expanded with reports of catalytic RNA 20 years ago and of endogenous RNA interference 10 years later. Now microRNAs, the 20- to 24-nucleotide transcripts that underlie much...
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