新型隐球酵母非编码小RNAs的研究进展

Small non-coding RNAs in Cryptococcus neoformans

新型隐球酵母是一种担子菌病原真菌,主要感染免疫功能缺陷的人群,例如HIV-1感染病人,最终会引起致命隐球菌性脑膜炎。非编码小RNAs一般指长度为20–30nt的小RNAs,具有调节功能。新型隐球酵母能够产生大量的小RNAs,但是其生成(biogenesis)过程以及生物学功能尚未完全阐述。本文就新型隐球酵母中小RNAs的特征和产生、以及在新型隐球酵母中的生物学作用和机制进行综述。

The basidiomycetous yeast Cryptococcus neoformans is one of the most encountered human fungal pathogens, which mainly infects immunocompromised patients and thus causes cryptococcal meningitis. Small non-coding RNAs（sRNAs） ranging from 20 to 30 nt in length are distinctly abundant in C. neoformans. However, their biogenesis and biological function have not been thoroughly elucidated. In this paper, we summarize briefly the recent research progress on the characteristics, categories, biological functions as well as regulatory mechanisms of sRNAs in C. neoformans.