Speaker
Description
In eukaryotes, post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) involves the production of small
interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and their incorporation into ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins. The
resulting siRNA–AGO complex mediates mRNA cleavage and/or translational repression,
leading to degradation via RNA decay pathways and ultimately resulting in reduced protein
expression. In plants, mRNA cleavage is believed to be the main mode of action of siRNAAGO complexes, and although translational repression has been shown, it is not yet well
understood. Interestingly, in duckweeds, a group of small aquatic flowering plants, siRNAmediated transgene silencing causes strong loss of protein synthesis, while mRNA levels
remain largely unchanged. On the contrary, loss of siRNA results in resoration of protein
levels. This observation suggests that translational repression, rather than mRNA
degradation, may be a predominant mechanism of gene regulation in this group of plants.
To investigate this hypothesis, we are exploiting transgene silencing in duckweeds to
analyze the fate and turnover of mRNAs, targeted or not by siRNAs, using a combination of
polysome profiling, SLAM-seq, and ribosome footprinting. Understanding silecing
mechanisms in duckweeds will expand the knowledge of silencing mechanisms, mostly
investigated in a handful of plant models, and potentially provide further insights into their
translational repression mechanisms.
Keywords
Silencing, PTGS, TGS
References
bioRxiv:2026.02.27.708460.
bioRxiv:2025.08.28.672806.
bioRxiv: 2024.04.03.587901.
| Corresponding author email | laura.diezma@gmi.oeaw.ac.at |
|---|---|
| Scientific Session | Genes, Genomes and Evolution |
