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 language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 834-838 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 293 |
Issue number | 5531 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2001 |