A Role for the RNase III Enzyme DCR-1 in RNA Interference and Germ Line Development in Caenorhabditis elegans

作者：Scott W. Knight, Brenda Bass · 发表于：Science · 年份：2001 · DOI：10.1126/science.1062039 · 被引用次数：865 · 研究领域：CRISPR and Genetic Engineering、RNA Interference and Gene Delivery、RNA regulation and disease

An early event in RNA interference (RNAi) is the cleavage of the initiating double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to short pieces, 21 to 23 nucleotides in length. Here we describe a null mutation in dicer-1 (dcr-1), a gene proposed to encode the enzyme that generates these short RNAs. We find that dcr-1(-/-) animals have defects in RNAi under some, but not all, conditions. Mutant animals have germ line defects that lead to sterility, suggesting that cleavage of dsRNA to short pieces is a requisite event in normal development.