Determining the defining lengths between mature microRNAs/small interfering RNAs and tinyRNAs.

ABSTRACT: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are loaded into Argonaute (AGO) proteins, forming RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISCs). The assembly process establishes the seed, central, 3' supplementary, and tail regions across the loaded guide, enabling the RISC to recognize target RNAs for silencing. This guide segmentation is caused by anchoring the 3' end at the AGO PAZ domain, but the minimum guide length required for the conformation remains to be studied because the current miRNA size defined by Dicer processing is ambiguous. Using a 3' → 5' exonuclease ISG20, we determined the lengths of AGO-associated miR-20a and let-7a with 3' ends that no longer reach the PAZ domain. Unexpectedly, miR-20a and let-7a needed different lengths, 19 and 20 nt, respectively, to maintain th

SUBMITTER: Sim G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10643408 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature