The finding that sequence-specific gene silencing occurs in response to the presence of
double-stranded RNAs has had an enormous impact on biology, uncovering an unsuspected …

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control gene expression in animals, plants, and unicellular eukaryotes
by promoting degradation or repressing translation of target mRNAs. miRNA expression is …

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a class of small RNAs that are 24–31 nucleotides in
length. They associate with PIWI proteins, which constitute a germline-specific subclade of the …

In Drosophila, repeat-associated small interfering RNAs (rasiRNAs) are produced in the
germ line by a Dicer-independent pathway and function through the PIWI subfamily of …

In mammalian cells, both microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are
thought to be loaded into the same RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), where they guide …

Fragile X syndrome is one of the most common human genetic diseases and the most common
cause of hereditary mental retardation. The gene that causes frag ile X syndrome, FMRI, …

In Drosophila, Piwi (P-element-induced wimpy testis), which encodes a protein of the Argonaute
family, is essential for germ stem cell self-renewal. Piwi has recently been shown to be a …

Fragile X syndrome is a common form of inherited mental retardation caused by the loss of
FMR1 expression. The FMR1 gene encodes an RNA-binding protein that associates with …

Double-stranded (ds) RNA induces potent gene silencing, termed RNA interference (RNAi).
At an early step in RNAi, an RNaseIII-related enzyme, Dicer (DCR-1), processes long-trigger …

The K protein is among the major pre-mRNA-bindlng proteins (hnRNPs) in vertebrate cell
nuclei. It binds tenaciously to cytidine-rich sequences and is the major oligo(rC/dC)-binding …