title: E. coli OxyS non-coding RNA does not trigger RNAi in C. elegans.
abstract: The discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) in C. elegans has had a major impact on scientific research, led to the rapid development of RNAi tools and has inspired RNA-based therapeutics. Astonishingly, nematodes, planaria and many insects take up double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) from their environment to elicit RNAi; the biological function of this mechanism is unclear. Recently, the E. coli OxyS non-coding RNA was shown to regulate gene expression in C. elegans when E. coli is offered as food. This was surprising given that C. elegans is unlikely to encounter E. coli in nature. To directly test the hypothesis that the E. coli OxyS non-coding RNA triggers the C. elegans RNAi pathway, we sequenced small RNAs from C. elegans after feeding with bacteria. We clearly demonstrate that the OxyS non-coding RNA does not trigger an RNAi response in C. elegans. We conclude that the biology of environmental RNAi remains to be discovered.
authors: Wellcome Trust Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Rd, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK.|Department of Biochemistry and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Rd, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK.
authors: Alper
authors: A
authors: Akay
authors: Wellcome Trust Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Rd, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK.|Department of Biochemistry and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Rd, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Sarkies
authors: Wellcome Trust Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Rd, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK.|Department of Biochemistry and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Rd, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK.
authors: Eric A
authors: EA
authors: Miska
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D034622:RNA Interference; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D058727:RNA, Small Untranslated
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D022661:RNA, Untranslated; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C400683:che-2 protein, C elegans; C499686:oxyS small RNA, E coli; D058727:RNA, Small Untranslated