BRANFORD, Conn., October 25, 2006 -- CuraGen Corporation's (NASDAQ: CRGN) majority-owned subsidiary 454 Life Sciences today announced that research on small RNAs, conducted by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, has revealed the dual role of the ARGONAUTE 4 protein (AGO4) in RNA-directed DNA methylation. The research, which describes a method for obtaining a comprehensive view of the total small RNAs from a single sample, was published today in Nature. The study, entitled, "Distinct Catalytic and Non-Catalytic Roles of ARGONAUTE4 in RNA-directed DNA Methylation," describes how 454 Sequencing
"Small RNAs have emerged as a means of genetic control that were completely unsuspected only 10 years ago. Virtually every area of biology has been affected by the discovery of these pathways. What we are now finding is that the diversity of small RNAs in many systems is even greater than previously suspected. The new study shows this in Arabidopsis (a model plant), where small RNAs have a major role in controlling the epigenetic organization of the entire genome," said Gregory Hannon of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, who led the research. "Conventional DNA sequencing methods gave us glimpses of the various classes of small RNAs that exist in plants and animals. However, only with 454 Sequencing have we been able to fully appreciate the extent of small RNA populations and the breadth of biological processes they might affect," Dr. Hannon noted.
"The Genome Sequencer 20
The role of small RNAs is an exciting and
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Contact: Benjamin Carmichael
benjamin.carmichael@eurorscg.com
212-845-4242
Noonan/Russo Communications
25-Oct-2006