A role for the RNase III enzyme DCR-1 in RNA interference and germ line development in Caenorhabditis elegans |
| |
Authors: | Knight S W Bass B L |
| |
Institution: | Department of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Utah, 50 North Medical Drive, Room 211, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA. |
| |
Abstract: | An early event in RNA interference (RNAi) is the cleavage of the initiating double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to short pieces, 21 to 23 nucleotides in length. Here we describe a null mutation in dicer-1 (dcr-1), a gene proposed to encode the enzyme that generates these short RNAs. We find that dcr-1(-/-) animals have defects in RNAi under some, but not all, conditions. Mutant animals have germ line defects that lead to sterility, suggesting that cleavage of dsRNA to short pieces is a requisite event in normal development. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|