title: Eukaryotic Argonautes come into focus.
abstract: Despite the fact that different classes of small RNAs are generated by largely different biogenesis pathways, all mature small RNAs associate with an Argonaute family member to form the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Gene silencing by RISC could not be studied in molecular detail because structural information on eukaryotic Argonautes was lacking. Recently, however, the structure of human Argonaute-2 (hAgo2), a model for RISC function, was determined in complexes with heterogeneous guide RNA and in complexes with a specific miRNA. We review the exciting advances that these two structures, together with the structure of a budding yeast Argonaute, brought to the field of eukaryotic RNA interference (RNAi), and how they will enable a more detailed mechanistic understanding of eukaryotic RISC.
authors.affiliation: W. M. Keck Structural Biology Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA.
authors.forename: Claus-D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.forename: Leemor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Joshua-Tor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D060565:Argonaute Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D060565:Argonaute Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering