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Updated: May 18, 2026

Chromatin Isolation by RNA Purification (ChIRP)
Published on: March 25, 2012
The role of long non-coding RNA in transcriptional gene silencing
1University of Michigan, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. wierzbic@umich.edu
Abstract:
Transcriptional gene silencing controls the activity of transposable elements and expression of protein-coding genes. It requires non-coding transcription, which in plants is performed by RNA Polymerases IV and V (Pol IV and Pol V). Pol IV produces precursors for siRNA biogenesis while Pol V produces scaffold transcripts required for siRNAs and associated proteins to recognize their target loci. In this review I discuss the mechanisms used by Pol IV and Pol V to mediate repressive chromatin modifications. I further discuss the mechanisms controlling non-coding transcription and their role in regulation of genome activity.
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