A cellular function for the RNA-interference enzyme Dicer in the maturation of the let-7 small temporal RNA

Gyorgy Hutvagner, Juanita McLachlan, Amy E. Pasquinelli, Eva Balint, Thomas Tuschl, Phillip D. Zamore

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    2180 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The 21-nucleotide small temporal RNA (stRNA) let-7regulates developmental timing in Caenorhabditis elegans and probably in other bilateral animals. We present in vivo and in vitro evidence that in Drosophila melanogaster a developmentally regulated precursor RNA is cleaved by an RNA interference-like mechanism to produce mature let-7 stRNA. Targeted destruction in cultured human cells of the messenger RNA encoding the enzyme Dicer, which acts in the RNA interference pathway, leads to accumulation of the let-7 precursor. Thus, the RNA interference and stRNA pathways intersect. Both pathways require the RNA-processing enzyme Dicer to produce the active small-RNA component that represses gene expression.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)834-838
    Number of pages5
    JournalScience
    Volume293
    Issue number5531
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2001

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