Small-RNA-guided gene regulation has emerged as one of the fundamental principles in
cell function, and the major protein players in this process are members of the Argonaute …

The power of any genetic model organism is derived, in part, from the ease with which gene
expression can be manipulated. The short generation time and invariant developmental …

Overlapping epigenetic mechanisms have evolved in eukaryotic cells to silence the
expression and mobility of transposable elements (TEs). Owing to their ability to recruit the …

Argonaute proteins associate with small RNAs that guide mRNA degradation, translational
repression, or a combination of both. The human Argonaute family has eight members, four …

Whole-genome sequencing of the protozoan pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi revealed that the
diploid genome contains a predicted 22,570 proteins encoded by genes, of which 12,570 …

The recently completed Caenorhabditis elegans genome sequence allows application of
high-throughput (HT) approaches for phenotypic analyses using RNA interference (RNAi) …

Mobility of transposable elements (TEs) frequently leads to insertional mutations in
functional DNA regions. In the potentially immortal germline, TEs are effectively suppressed …

Molecules that can specifically silence gene expression are powerful research tools. Much
effort has been put into the development of such molecules and has resulted in the creation …

Summary In metazoans, Piwi-related Argonaute proteins have been linked to germline
maintenance, and to a class of germline-enriched small RNAs termed piRNAs. Here we …

Transposable elements make up a substantial proportion of most plant genomes. Because
they are potentially highly mutagenic, transposons are controlled by a set of mechanisms …