Pseudogene-derived small interference RNAs regulate gene expression in African Trypanosoma brucei.

ABSTRACT: Pseudogenes have been shown to acquire unique regulatory roles from more and more organisms. We report the observation of a cluster of siRNAs derived from pseudogenes of African Trypanosoma brucei using high through-put analysis. We show that these pseudogene-derived siRNAs suppress gene expression through RNA interference. The discovery that siRNAs may originate from pseudogenes and regulate gene expression in a unicellular eukaryote provides insights into the functional roles of pseudogenes and into the origin of noncoding small RNAs.

SUBMITTER: Wen YZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3100955 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature