Abstract
RNA silencing is a conserved regulatory mechanism that plays an important role in genome integrity and defense in eukaryotic organisms. A key molecule in this sequence-specific RNA degradation mechanism is double-stranded RNA, which is processed by an RNase-III like enzyme (Dicer) into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). The initial pool of siRNAs can be amplified through the action of RNA-dependent RNA polymerases, which could account for the observed spreading of RNA silencing along the target gene (transitive silencing) and throughout the organism (systemic silencing). In this chapter we discuss the mechanism of RNA amplification and its possible involvement in transitive and systemic RNA silencing in different organisms.
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© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Bleys, A., van Houdt, H., Depicker, A. (2006). Transitive and Systemic RNA Silencing: Both Involving an RNA Amplification Mechanism?. In: Nellen, W., Hammann, C. (eds) Small RNAs. Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology, vol 17. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-28130-6_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-28130-6_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-74270-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-28130-6
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