Genome-wide exonic small interference RNA-mediated gene silencing regulates sexual reproduction in the homothallic fungus Fusarium graminearum.

ABSTRACT: Various ascomycete fungi possess sex-specific molecular mechanisms, such as repeat-induced point mutations, meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA, and unusual adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing, for genome defense or gene regulation. Using a combined analysis of functional genetics and deep sequencing of small noncoding RNA (sRNA), mRNA, and the degradome, we found that the sex-specifically induced exonic small interference RNA (ex-siRNA)-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism has an important role in fine-tuning the transcriptome during ascospore formation in the head blight fungus Fusarium graminearum. Approximately one-third of the total sRNAs were produced from the gene region, and sRNAs with an antisense direction or 5'-U were involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation by reducing

SUBMITTER: Son H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5310905 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature