Transgene and Transposon Silencing in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by a DEAH-Box RNA Helicase

Authors

Dancia Wu-Scharf, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Byeong-Ryool Jeong, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Chaomei Zhang, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Heriberto D. Cerutti, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

November 2000

Comments

Published in SCIENCE VOL 290, 10 NOVEMBER 2000. Copyright 2000. Used by permission. www.sciencemag.org

Abstract

The molecular mechanism(s) responsible for posttranscriptional gene silencing and RNA interference remain poorly understood. We have cloned a gene (Mut6) from the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that is required for the silencing of a transgene and two transposon families. Mut6 encodes a protein that is highly homologous to RNA helicases of the DEAH-box family. This protein is necessary for the degradation of certain aberrant RNAs, such as improperly processed transcripts, which are often produced by transposons and some transgenes.