DCL-1 colocalizes with other components of the MSUD machinery and is required for silencing

Fungal Genet Biol. 2008 May;45(5):719-27. doi: 10.1016/j.fgb.2007.10.006. Epub 2007 Oct 22.

Abstract

In Neurospora, a gene present in an abnormal number of copies is usually a red flag for mischief. One way to deal with these potential intruders is by destroying their transcripts. Widely known as RNA interference (RNAi), this mechanism depends on the "dicing" of a double-stranded RNA intermediate into small-interfering RNA, which in turn guide the degradation of mRNA from the target gene. Quelling is a vegetative silencing system in Neurospora that utilizes such a mechanism. Quelling depends on the redundant activity of two Dicer-like ribonucleases, DCL-1 and DCL-2. Here, we show that Meiotic Silencing by Unpaired DNA (MSUD), a mechanism that silences expression from unpaired DNA during meiosis, requires the dcl-1 (but not the dcl-2) gene for its function. This result suggests that MSUD operates in a similar manner to Quelling and other RNAi systems. DCL-1 colocalizes with SAD-1 (an RdRP), SAD-2, and SMS-2 (an Argonaute) in the perinuclear region.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Base Sequence
  • Cytoplasm / chemistry
  • Fungal Proteins / analysis*
  • Fungal Proteins / genetics
  • Fungal Proteins / physiology*
  • Gene Deletion
  • Gene Silencing*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Neurospora / chemistry*
  • Neurospora / genetics
  • Neurospora / physiology*
  • Protein Binding
  • Ribonuclease III / analysis*
  • Ribonuclease III / genetics
  • Ribonuclease III / physiology*

Substances

  • Fungal Proteins
  • Ribonuclease III