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

William G. Alexander, Namboori B. Raju, Hua Xiao, Thomas M. Hammond, Tony D. Perdue, Robert L. Metzenberg, Patricia J. Pukkila, Patrick K.T. Shiu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

62 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)719-727
Number of pages9
JournalFungal Genetics and Biology
Volume45
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2008
Externally publishedYes

Funding

We are grateful to the members of the Shiu Laboratory for their technical assistance, to Carlo Cogoni and Giuseppe Macino for the dcl-1 Δ and dcl-2 Δ strains, and to Michael Freitag and Eric Selker for the pBM61, pMF272, and pMF334 plasmids. This work was sponsored by National Science Foundation Grants MCB0417282 (in support of N.B.R.), MCB0234421 (to R.L.M.), EF0412016 (to P.J.P.), and MCB0544237 (to P.K.T.S.). We dedicate this article to the memory of our esteemed colleague Robert Metzenberg (1930–2007).

FundersFunder number
National Science FoundationMCB0234421, MCB0417282, EF0412016, MCB0544237

    Keywords

    • Dicer
    • Epigenetics
    • Meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA (MSUD)
    • Neurospora crassa
    • Post-transcriptional gene silencing

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