Actions of plant Argonautes: predictable or unpredictable?

Zeyang Ma; Xiuren Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.pbi.2018.05.007

Actions of plant Argonautes: predictable or unpredictable?

Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2018 Oct;45(Pt A):59-67. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2018.05.007. Epub 2018 May 29.

Authors

Zeyang Ma¹, Xiuren Zhang²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
² Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. Electronic address: xiuren.zhang@tamu.edu.

PMID: 29857309
DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2018.05.007

Abstract

Argonaute (AGO) proteins are the key effector of RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Land plants typically encode numerous AGO proteins, and they can be typically divided into two major functional groups based on the species of their housed small RNAs (sRNAs). One group of AGOs, guided by 24-nucleotide (nt) sRNAs, canonically function in nuclei to implement transcriptional gene silencing (TGS), whereas the other group of AGOs, guided by 21-nt sRNAs, act in the cytoplasm to fulfill posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS). Many new discoveries have been recently made on functions and mechanisms of AGO proteins in plants, and some of the findings change our views on the conventional classification and roles of AGO proteins. In this review, we summarize our current knowledge of AGO proteins in plants.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Argonaute Proteins / genetics
Argonaute Proteins / metabolism*
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Gene Silencing / physiology
Plant Proteins / genetics
Plant Proteins / metabolism*
Plants / genetics
Plants / metabolism*

Substances

Argonaute Proteins
Plant Proteins