Abstract
Dicer proteins are involved in RNA silencing. They produce siRNAs and miRNAs, and they interact with a dsRNA-binding protein. In Arabidopsis thaliana there are four members of the Dicer family. We have studied the biochemical properties of four Arabidopsis Dicer-like proteins (DCL1-4) and four dsRNA-binding proteins (HYL1/DRB1, DRB2, DRB4 and DRB5). We have reported that HYL1/DRB1 binds specifically to DCL1, and DRB4 most strongly binds to DCL4 in vitro.
Correspondingly, in immunoprecipitation experiments with crude extracts of wild-type Arabidopsis plants, co-immunoprecipitation of DCL4 and DRB4 was detected, indicating that DCL4 interacts with DRB4 in vivo. In addition, co-immunoprecipitation of DRB4 and DCL1 was detected by using extracts from transgenic plants expressing the hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged version of each DCL. Those results suggest that Dicer might function with some particular dsRNA-binding proteins (HYL1/DRB family) in plant.
