Multisubunit RNA Polymerases IV and V: Purveyors of Non-Coding RNA for Plant Gene Silencing

Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology, 12:483-492

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm3152· OSTI ID:1053391

Haag, Jeremy R; Pikaard, Craig S

In all eukaryotes, nuclear DNA-dependent RNA polymerases I, II and III synthesize the myriad RNAs that are essential for life. Remarkably, plants have evolved two additional multisubunit RNA polymerases, RNA polymerases IV and V, which orchestrate non-coding RNA-mediated gene silencing processes affecting development, transposon taming, antiviral defence and allelic crosstalk. Biochemical details concerning the templates and products of RNA polymerases IV and V are lacking. However, their subunit compositions reveal that they evolved as specialized forms of RNA polymerase II, which provides the unique opportunity to study the functional diversification of a eukaryotic RNA polymerase family.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1053391
• Journal Information: Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology, 12:483-492, Journal Name: Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology, 12:483-492
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory