title: RNAi pathways in Mucor: A tale of proteins, small RNAs and functional diversity.
abstract: The existence of an RNA-mediated silencing mechanism in the opportunistic fungal pathogen Mucor circinelloides was first described in the early 2000. Since then, Mucor has reached an outstanding position within the fungal kingdom as a model system to achieve a deeper understanding of regulation of endogenous functions by the RNA interference (RNAi) machinery. M. circinelloides combines diverse components of its RNAi machinery to carry out functions not only limited to the defense against invasive nucleic acids, but also to regulate expression of its own genes by producing different classes of endogenous small RNA molecules (esRNAs). The recent discovery of a novel RNase that participates in a new RNA degradation pathway adds more elements to the gene silencing-mediated regulation. This review focuses on esRNAs in M. circinelloides, the different pathways involved in their biogenesis, and their roles in regulating specific physiological and developmental processes in response to environmental signals, highlighting the complexity of silencing-mediated regulation in fungi.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Murcia 30100, Spain.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Torres-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Murcia 30100, Spain. Electronic address: rmruiz@um.es.
authors.forename: Rosa M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Vázquez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D009089:Mucor / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D034622:RNA Interference / Q000502:physiology*; D012331:RNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020733:RNA, Small Cytoplasmic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D012331:RNA, Fungal; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D020733:RNA, Small Cytoplasmic
keywords: Dicer-dependent pathway; Dicer-independent pathway; Endogenous small RNAs; Gene regulation; Mucor; RNAi; mRNA degradation