植物非细胞自主性小RNA分子研究进展

Advances on the Research of Non-cell-autonomous Small RNAs in Plants

非细胞自主性是RNA干扰的主要特点之一,表现为沉默效应可以在细胞、组织和生物个体间传递和扩散,可移动的小RNA分子在这种非细胞自主性的沉默扩散中发挥了核心作用。近年来的研究表明小RNA分子可以与转录因子、多肽和植物激素一样传递胞间信息,并以其特有的方式调控发育模式、响应环境胁迫、增强病毒抗性和维持转座子的沉默。综述了近年来在植物非细胞自主性RNAi研究中取得的主要进展,主要介绍了通过韧皮部和胞间连丝途径传递沉默信号的各种小RNA分子及其生物学作用、非细胞自主性小RNA的分子特征和运输效率的调控,并对存在的问题及其研究前景进行了展望。

One of the most fascinating features of RNA interference（RNAi）is its ability to transmit and spread from cell to cell. Such non-cell-autonomous silencing effects can also occur between tissues and organisms, in which the mobile small RNAs play a key role. However, the nature of non-cell-autonomous small RNAs is somewhat elusive. Recent studies have implied that small RNAs, including si RNAs and mi RNAs, can transmit intercellular messages as transcriptional factors, peptide ligands and plant hormones do, and specifically are involved in a variety of biological processes of regulating developmental patterns, responding environmental stress, enhancing antiviral defense, and maintaining the silence of transposon. In this article we review the recent major research advances on the non-cell-autonomous RNAi, mainly focusing on the varied small RNAs transmitting the silence signals via the pathways of phloem and plasmodesma as well as their biological roles, also their molecular properties and regulation of mobility. Further potential problems and prospects of future researches are discussed.