Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
14:43
Lignin Down-regulation of Zea mays via dsRNAi and Klason Lignin Analysis
Published on: July 23, 2014
RNA-based silencing strategies in plants
M A Matzke1, A J Matzke, G J Pruss
1Institute of Molecular Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Billrothstrasse 11, A-5020, Salzburg, Austria. mmatzke@imb.oeaw.ac.at
Current Opinion in Genetics & Development
|March 16, 2001
Summary
Double-stranded RNA silences plant genes through RNA degradation and DNA methylation. Research on Arabidopsis mutants and viral suppressors reveals conserved silencing mechanisms and methylation
Area of Science:
- Plant molecular biology
- Epigenetics
- RNA interference
Background:
- Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) mediates gene silencing in plants.
- Silencing involves both RNA degradation in the cytoplasm and DNA methylation in the nucleus.
- RNA silencing pathways are conserved across diverse organisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanisms of RNA silencing in plants.
- To understand the role of Arabidopsis mutants and viral suppressors in elucidating these pathways.
- To assess the contribution of DNA methylation to gene silencing at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Arabidopsis mutants with altered silencing responses.
- Study of plant viral suppressors of RNA silencing.
- Investigating the interplay between RNA degradation and DNA methylation in gene silencing.
Main Results:
- RNA silencing mechanisms in plants involve conserved protein machinery.
- DNA methylation plays a significant role in both transcriptional and posttranscriptional gene silencing.
- Arabidopsis mutants and viral suppressors provide insights into the regulation of silencing.
Conclusions:
- RNA silencing is a complex process involving RNA degradation and epigenetic modifications.
- Conserved proteins mediate RNA silencing across different species.
- DNA methylation is a key epigenetic mechanism regulating gene expression in plants via RNA silencing.
Related Concept Videos
01:22MicroRNAs
MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns—non-coding regions of a gene—or intergenic regions—stretches of DNA present between genes. Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA ends...
01:23RNA Interference
RNA interference (RNAi) is a process in which a small non-coding RNA molecule blocks the post-transcriptional expression of a gene by binding to its messenger RNA (mRNA) and preventing the protein from being translated.
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...
01:23RNA Interference
RNA interference (RNAi) is a process in which a small non-coding RNA molecule blocks the post-transcriptional expression of a gene by binding to its messenger RNA (mRNA) and preventing the protein from being translated.
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...
02:30siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs
Small interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, are short regulatory RNA molecules that can silence genes post-transcriptionally, as well as the transcriptional level in some cases. siRNAs are important for protecting cells against viral infections and silencing transposable genetic elements.
In the cytoplasm, siRNA is processed from a double-stranded RNA, which comes from either endogenous DNA transcription or exogenous sources like a virus. This double-stranded RNA is then cleaved by the ATP-dependent...
In the cytoplasm, siRNA is processed from a double-stranded RNA, which comes from either endogenous DNA transcription or exogenous sources like a virus. This double-stranded RNA is then cleaved by the ATP-dependent...
02:15Experimental RNAi
RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular mechanism that inhibits gene expression by suppressing its transcription or activating the RNA degradation process. The mechanism was discovered by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello in 1998 in plants. Today, it is observed in almost all eukaryotes, including protozoa, flies, nematodes, insects, parasites, and mammals. This precise cellular mechanism of gene silencing has been developed into a technique that provides an efficient way to identify and determine the...
01:22MicroRNAs
MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns (non-coding regions of a gene) or intergenic regions (stretches of DNA present between genes). Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself, forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA...