Endoribonuclease Dicer homolog 1 | |||||||
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Identifiers | |||||||
Organism | |||||||
Symbol | DCL1 | ||||||
Alt. symbols | AT1G01040 | ||||||
PDB | 7ELD | ||||||
UniProt | Q9SP32 | ||||||
Other data | |||||||
EC number | EC:3.1.26 | ||||||
Chromosome | 1: 0.02 - 0.03 Mb | ||||||
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DCL1 (an abbreviation of Dicer-like 1) is a gene in plants that codes for the DCL1 protein, a ribonuclease III enzyme involved in processing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and microRNA (miRNA). [1] Although DCL1, also called Endoribonuclease Dicer homolog 1, is named for its homology with the metazoan protein Dicer, its role in miRNA biogenesis is somewhat different, due to substantial differences in miRNA maturation processes between plants and animals, [2] as well due to additional downstream plant-specific pathways, where DCL1 paralogs like DCL4 participate, such Trans-acting siRNA biogenesis.
DCL1 is localized exclusively in the plant cell nucleus, [3] together with the double-stranded RNA binding protein Hyponastic Leaves1 (HYL1), CTD-Phosphatase-Like1 (CPL1) and the zinc finger protein SERRATE (SE), form nuclear dicing bodies or D-bodies. In these membraneless organelles, pri-miRNAs are recognized and processes into pre-miRNAs and subsequently into mature miRNA duplexes, by the binding of additional proteins such as Constitutive Alterations in the Small RNAs Pathways9 (CARP9). [3] In plants, DCL1 is responsible both for processing a primary miRNA to a pre-miRNA, and for then processing the pre-miRNA to a mature miRNA. [4] [5] In animals, the equivalents of these two steps are carried out by different proteins; First, pri-miRNA processing takes place in the nucleus by the ribonuclease Drosha as part of the Microprocessor complex. Second and finally processing to a mature miRNA takes place in the cytoplasm by Dicer to yield a mature miRNA. [2]
In animals, hairpin-containing primary transcripts (pri-miRNAs) are cleaved by Drosha to generate precursor-miRNAs, a double strand palindromic structure typically call hairpin pre-miRNAs, which are subsequently cleaved by Dicer to generate mature miRNAs. Instead of being cleaved by two different enzymes, both cleavages in plants are performed by Dicer-like 1 (DCL1), despite a similar domain architecture between both homologous enzymes. [5] Recent single-particle cryo-electron microscopy structures of both complexes of dsRNA structures (pri-RNA and pre-miRNA) as ligand of Arabidopsis DCL1, in cleavage-competent state, suggest that PAZ domain plasticity allow its to get involved in pri-miRNA and pre-miRNA recognition, the possibility of an internal loop binding groove of this protein domain, which serves as an engine that transfers the substrate between two sequential cleavage events. [5]
Although DCL1 is responsible for the majority of the miRNA processing in plants, most plants contain an additional set of DCLs proteins with related roles in RNA processing, [6] the number of additional members of the same family depends on the plant family. For instance, in Brassicaceae there are 5 additional paralog genes to DLC1, DCL2, DCL3, DCL4 and two RNASE III-LIKE genes RTL1 and RTL2; [7] [8] Howeversome dicots such as Populus trichocarpa [9] as well the majority of monocots plants have five to six DCLs, where DCL2 and DCL3 suffered an additional duplication into the genes DCL2a and DCL2. DCL3's duplication is monocot-specifict, generating the genes DCL3a and DCL3b, also called DCL3 and DCL5 respectively. [10] [7]
MicroRNA (miRNA) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules containing 21 to 23 nucleotides. Found in plants, animals and some viruses, miRNAs are involved in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. miRNAs base-pair to complementary sequences in mRNA molecules, then silence said mRNA molecules by one or more of the following processes:
Dicer, also known as endoribonuclease Dicer or helicase with RNase motif, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the DICER1 gene. Being part of the RNase III family, Dicer cleaves double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and pre-microRNA (pre-miRNA) into short double-stranded RNA fragments called small interfering RNA and microRNA, respectively. These fragments are approximately 20–25 base pairs long with a two-base overhang on the 3′-end. Dicer facilitates the activation of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), which is essential for RNA interference. RISC has a catalytic component Argonaute, which is an endonuclease capable of degrading messenger RNA (mRNA).
The RNA-induced silencing complex, or RISC, is a multiprotein complex, specifically a ribonucleoprotein, which functions in gene silencing via a variety of pathways at the transcriptional and translational levels. Using single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) fragments, such as microRNA (miRNA), or double-stranded small interfering RNA (siRNA), the complex functions as a key tool in gene regulation. The single strand of RNA acts as a template for RISC to recognize complementary messenger RNA (mRNA) transcript. Once found, one of the proteins in RISC, Argonaute, activates and cleaves the mRNA. This process is called RNA interference (RNAi) and it is found in many eukaryotes; it is a key process in defense against viral infections, as it is triggered by the presence of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA).
The Argonaute protein family, first discovered for its evolutionarily conserved stem cell function, plays a central role in RNA silencing processes as essential components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). RISC is responsible for the gene silencing phenomenon known as RNA interference (RNAi). Argonaute proteins bind different classes of small non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). Small RNAs guide Argonaute proteins to their specific targets through sequence complementarity, which then leads to mRNA cleavage, translation inhibition, and/or the initiation of mRNA decay.
Drosha is a Class 2 ribonuclease III enzyme that in humans is encoded by the DROSHA gene. It is the primary nuclease that executes the initiation step of miRNA processing in the nucleus. It works closely with DGCR8 and in correlation with Dicer. It has been found significant in clinical knowledge for cancer prognosis and HIV-1 replication.
miR-30 microRNA precursor is a small non-coding RNA that regulates gene expression. Animal microRNAs are transcribed as pri-miRNA of varying length which in turns are processed in the nucleus by Drosha into ~70 nucleotide stem-loop precursor called pre-miRNA and subsequently processed by the Dicer enzyme to give a mature ~22 nucleotide product. In this case the mature sequence comes from both the 3' (miR-30) and 5' (mir-97-6) arms of the precursor. The products are thought to have regulatory roles through complementarity to mRNA.
Trans-acting siRNA are a class of small interfering RNA (siRNA) that repress gene expression through post-transcriptional gene silencing in land plants. Precursor transcripts from TAS loci are polyadenylated and converted to double-stranded RNA, and are then processed into 21-nucleotide-long RNA duplexes with overhangs. These segments are incorporated into an RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and direct the sequence-specific cleavage of target mRNA. Ta-siRNAs are classified as siRNA because they arise from double-stranded RNA (dsRNA).
Mirtrons are a type of microRNAs that are located in the introns of the mRNA encoding host genes. These short hairpin introns formed via atypical miRNA biogenesis pathways. Mirtrons arise from the spliced-out introns and are known to function in gene expression.
RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process in which RNA molecules are involved in sequence-specific suppression of gene expression by double-stranded RNA, through translational or transcriptional repression. Historically, RNAi was known by other names, including co-suppression, post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS), and quelling. The detailed study of each of these seemingly different processes elucidated that the identity of these phenomena were all actually RNAi. Andrew Fire and Craig C. Mello shared the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on RNAi in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, which they published in 1998. Since the discovery of RNAi and its regulatory potentials, it has become evident that RNAi has immense potential in suppression of desired genes. RNAi is now known as precise, efficient, stable and better than antisense therapy for gene suppression. Antisense RNA produced intracellularly by an expression vector may be developed and find utility as novel therapeutic agents.
Degradome sequencing (Degradome-Seq), also referred to as parallel analysis of RNA ends (PARE), is a modified version of 5'-Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE) using high-throughput, deep sequencing methods such as Illumina's SBS technology. The degradome encompasses the entire set of proteases that are expressed at a specific time in a given biological material, including tissues, cells, organisms, and biofluids. Thus, sequencing this degradome offers a method for studying and researching the process of RNA degradation. This process is used to identify and quantify RNA degradation products, or fragments, present in any given biological sample. This approach allows for the systematic identification of targets of RNA decay and provides insight into the dynamics of transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulation.
In molecular biology, small nucleolar RNA derived microRNAs are microRNAs (miRNA) derived from small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA). MicroRNAs are usually derived from precursors known as pre-miRNAs, these pre-miRNAs are recognised and cleaved from a pri-miRNA precursor by the Pasha and Drosha proteins. However some microRNAs, mirtrons, are known to be derived from introns via a different pathway which bypasses Pasha and Drosha. Some microRNAs are also known to be derived from small nucleolar RNA.
MicroRNA 3648 is a microRNA that in humans is produced by MIR3648 gene. This gene was recently shown to be specific to humans by Nathan H. Lents and colleagues.
MicroRNA 95 is a small non-coding RNA that in humans is encoded by the MIR95 gene.
The microprocessor complex is a protein complex involved in the early stages of processing microRNA (miRNA) and RNA interference (RNAi) in animal cells. The complex is minimally composed of the ribonuclease enzyme Drosha and the dimeric RNA-binding protein DGCR8, and cleaves primary miRNA substrates to pre-miRNA in the cell nucleus. Microprocessor is also the smaller of the two multi-protein complexes that contain human Drosha.
MicroRNA 489 is a miRNA that in humans is encoded by the MIR489 gene.
MicroRNA 499a is a non-coding RNA that in humans is encoded by the MIR499A gene.
MicroRNA 203a is a small RNA that in humans is encoded by the preMIR203A gene.
MicroRNA let-7f-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MIRLET7F2 gene.
MicroRNA 517c is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MIR517C gene.
DCL2 is a gene in plants that codes for the DCL2 protein, a ribonuclease III enzyme involved in processing exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into 22 nucleotide small interference RNAs (siRNAs).