Clade-wide fungal proteome analysis reveals structure-function conservation in divergent Dicer proteins.

ABSTRACT: Dicers (Dcrs) are central proteins involved in the biogenesis of small RNAs (sRNAs). Most of the knowledge on Dcr structure, function and evolution comes from studies in animals and plants. Comparatively, less is known in fungi, a genetically and ecologically diverse group with important roles in ecosystems, agriculture, medicine, and biotechnology. While canonical Dcrs contain a well-defined domain architecture, most fungal Dcrs lack one or more identifiable canonical domains, raising questions about how RNA-binding and sRNA-processing is retained. We conducted an extensive survey of fungal Dcrs, analyzing 1592 proteomes across nine phyla. We found a diversity of domain architectures, with some lacking identifiable Piwi, Argonaute and Zwille (PAZ), Helicase, and/or double-stranded RNA-bin

SUBMITTER: Melet L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12663654 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature