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Cell-to-cell trafficking of RNA and RNA silencing through plasmodesmata

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Abstract

Plasmodesmata (PD) are plasma membrane-lined cytoplasmic channels that cross the cell wall and establish symplasmic continuity between neighboring cells in plants. Recently, a wide range of cellular RNAs (including mRNAs and small RNAs (sRNAs)) have been reported to move from cell to cell through PD trafficking pathways. sRNAs are key molecules that function in transcriptional and post-transcriptional RNA silencing, which is a gene expression regulatory mechanism that is conserved among eukaryotes and is important for protection against invading nucleic acids (such as viruses and transposons) and for developmental and physiological regulation. One of the most intriguing aspects of RNA silencing is that it can function either cell autonomously or non-cell autonomously in post-transcriptional RNA silencing pathways. Although the mechanisms underlying cell-to-cell trafficking of RNA and RNA silencing signals are not fully understood, the movement of specific RNAs seems to play a critical role in cell-to-cell and long-distance regulation of gene expression, thereby coordinating growth and developmental processes, gene silencing, and stress responses. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding cell-to-cell trafficking of RNA molecules (including small RNAs), and we discuss potential molecular mechanisms of cell-to-cell trafficking that are mediated by complex networks.

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Abbreviations

miRNA:

MicroRNA

MP:

Movement protein

NCAP:

Non-cell-autonomous protein

PD:

Plasmodesmata

SEL:

Size exclusion limit

siRNA:

Short interfering RNA

sRNA:

Small RNA

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the WCU (World Class University) program (R33-10002), the National Research Lab Program (2009-0066339) through the National Research Foundation of Korea, funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry, Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 program), Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Research Center, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, 660-701, South Korea

    Tae Kyung Hyun, Mohammad Nazim Uddin, Yeonggil Rim & Jae-Yean Kim

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  1. Tae Kyung Hyun
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  2. Mohammad Nazim Uddin
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  3. Yeonggil Rim
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Correspondence to Jae-Yean Kim.

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Handling Editor: Alexander Schulz

Tae Kyung Hyun, Mohammad Nazim Uddin, and Yeonggil Rim contributed equally to this work.

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Hyun, T.K., Uddin, M.N., Rim, Y. et al. Cell-to-cell trafficking of RNA and RNA silencing through plasmodesmata. Protoplasma 248, 101–116 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-010-0225-6

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