Abstract
Recently, many biological findings, in which RNAs are involved, such as RNA interference (RNAi), have been reported. Double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) or single-stranded RNAs containing a double-stranded region, and dsRNA-binding proteins or dsRNA-binding motif (dsRBM)-containing proteins, play key roles in these important biological processes. In Arabidopsis thaliana, Dicer-like proteins (DCL), dsRNA-binding proteins (HYL1/DRB) and a methyl transferase (HEN1) play important roles in RNAi and miRNA biogenesis. All of them have dsRBM(s) within their N-terminal or C-terminal region.
We will report functions of dsRNA-binding proteins or dsRBM-containing proteins in A. thaliana. Furthermore, biochemical activities of these proteins, Dicer-like proteins (DCL1-4), dsRNA-binding proteins (HYL1/DRB1-5) and a RNaseIII-like protein (RTL2), will be reported.
