| Literature DB >> 21914793 |
Ursula E Schoeberl1, Kazufumi Mochizuki.
Abstract
Many transposon-related sequences are removed from the somatic macronucleus of ciliates during sexual reproduction. In the ciliate Tetrahymena, an RNAi-related mechanism produces small noncoding RNAs that induce heterochromatin formation, which is followed by DNA elimination. Because RNAi-related mechanisms repress transposon activities in a variety of eukaryotes, the DNA elimination mechanism of ciliates might have evolved from these types of transposon-silencing mechanisms. Nuclear dimorphism allows ciliates to identify any DNA that has invaded the germ-line micronucleus using small RNAs and a whole genome comparison of the micronucleus and the somatic macronucleus.Mesh:
Substances:
Year: 2011 PMID: 21914793 PMCID: PMC3199450 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.R111.276964
Source DB: PubMed Journal: J Biol Chem ISSN: 0021-9258 Impact factor: 5.157