title: Cooperative processing of primary miRNAs by DUS16 and DCL3 in the unicellular green algaChlamydomonas reinhardtii.
abstract: We have previously reported that the RNA-binding protein Dull slicer 16 (DUS16) plays a key role in the processing of primary miRNAs (pri-miRNAs) in the unicellular green algaChlamydomonas reinhardtii. In the present report, we elaborate on the interaction of DUS16 with Dicer-like 3 (DCL3) during pri-miRNA processing. Comprehensive analyses of small RNA libraries derived from mutant and wild-type algal strains allowed the de novo prediction of 35 pri-miRNA genes, including 9 previously unknown ones. The pri-miRNAs dependent on DUS16 for processing largely overlapped with those dependent on DCL3. Our findings suggest that DUS16 and DCL3 work cooperatively, presumably as components of a microprocessor complex, in the processing of the majority of pri-miRNAs inC. reinhardtii.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Photobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology , Okazaki, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Science and Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln , Lincoln, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Heriberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cerutti
keywords: Argonaute; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; Dicer; RNA-binding protein; miRNA; small RNA-seq