Advanced Review
DNA rearrangements directed by non-coding RNAs in ciliates
Kazufumi Mochizuki,
Corresponding Author
Kazufumi Mochizuki
Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, A-1030 Vienna, AustriaSearch for more papers by this author
Kazufumi Mochizuki,
Corresponding Author
Kazufumi Mochizuki
Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, A-1030 Vienna, AustriaSearch for more papers by this authorAbstract
Extensive programmed rearrangement of DNA, including DNA elimination, chromosome fragmentation, and DNA unscrambling, takes place in the newly developed macronucleus during the sexual reproduction of ciliated protozoa. Recent studies have revealed that two distant classes of ciliates use distinct types of non-coding RNAs to regulate such DNA rearrangement events. DNA elimination in Tetrahymena is regulated by small non-coding RNAs that are produced and utilized in an RNA interference (RNAi)-related process. It has been proposed that the small RNAs produced from the micronuclear genome are used to identify eliminated DNA sequences by whole-genome comparison between the parental macronucleus and the micronucleus. In contrast, DNA unscrambling in Oxytricha is guided by long non-coding RNAs that are produced from the parental macronuclear genome. These long RNAs are proposed to act as templates for the direct unscrambling events that occur in the developing macronucleus. Both cases provide useful examples to study epigenetic chromatin regulation by non-coding RNAs. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is categorized under:
- Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > RNAi: Mechanisms of Action
- Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Regulatory RNAs
- RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Development
FURTHER READING
- Blackburn EH, Greider CW, Szostak JW. Telomeres and telomerase: the path from maize, Tetrahymena and yeast to human cancer and aging. Nat Med 2006, 12: 1133–1138.
- Chalker DL. Dynamic nuclear reorganization during genome remodeling of Tetrahymena. Biochim Biophys Acta 1783, 2008: 2130–2136.
- Duharcourt S, Lepere G, Meyer E. Developmental genome rearrangements in ciliates: a natural genomic subtractionmediated by non-coding transcripts. Trends Genet 2009, 25: 344–350.
- Nowacki M, Landweber LF. Epigenetic inheritance in ciliates. Curr Opin Microbiol 2009, 12: 638–643.
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