Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 6, 2026

mRNA Interactome Capture from Plant Protoplasts
Published on: July 28, 2017
Evolution, functions, and mysteries of plant ARGONAUTE proteins
Han Zhang1, Rui Xia2, Blake C Meyers2
1Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Abstract:
ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins bind small RNAs (sRNAs) to form RNA-induced silencing complexes for transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene silencing. Genomes of primitive plants encode only a few AGO proteins. The Arabidopsis thaliana genome encodes ten AGO proteins, designated AGO1 to AGO10. Most early studies focused on these ten proteins and their interacting sRNAs. AGOs in other flowering plant species have duplicated and diverged from this set, presumably corresponding to new, diverged or specific functions. Among these, the grass-specific AGO18 family has been discovered and implicated as playing important roles during plant reproduction and viral defense. This review covers our current knowledge about functions and features of AGO proteins in both eudicots and monocots and compares their similarities and differences. On the basis of these features, we propose a new nomenclature for some plant AGOs.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to...
piRNA - Piwi-interacting RNAs
Microtubule Associated Motor Proteins
RNA Interference
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...
RNA Interference
Experimental RNAi

