Small RNAs meet their targets: When methylation defends miRNAs from uridylation

Authors

Guodong Ren, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Xuemei Chen, University of California - RiversideFollow
Bin Yu, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2014

Citation

RNA Biology 11:9, 1099--1104; September 2014

Comments

© 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Abstract

Small RNAs are incorporated into Argonaute protein-containing complexes to guide the silencing of target RNAs in both animals and plants. The abundance of endogenous small RNAs is precisely controlled at multiple levels including transcription, processing and Argonaute loading. In addition to these processes, 3' end modification of small RNAs, the topic of a research area that has rapidly evolved over the last several years, adds another layer of regulation of their abundance, diversity and function. Here, we review our recent understanding of small RNA 3' end methylation and tailing.