MicroRNAs - Tiny molecules shape up plants
This release is also available in ............Since the DNA double helix was discovered 50 years ago, biologists have focused on the role of DNA in controlling gene activity. Only recently have scientists begun to appreciate the importance of microRNAs in keeping gene activity in check, a discovery that was hailed as the breakthrough of 2002 by magazine (Small RNAs make big splash, Vol. 298, p...'MicroRNAs' control plant shape and structure
CORVALLIS, Ore. - New discoveries about tiny genetic components called microRNAs explain why plant leaves are flat. ... The study may be a first step, researchers say, in revolutionizing our understanding of how plants control their morphology, or shape. A plant's ability to grow structures with a specific shape is critical to its normal function of capturing energy from the sun and p...Tiny RNAs-'biological equivalent of dark matter'-wins prestigious AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize
The discovery of micro-sized RNA molecules (miRNAs)-a breakthrough described as "the biological equivalent of dark matter, all around us but almost escaping detection"-earned the coveted 2001-2002 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize....... Three journal reports, published in the 26 October 2001 issue of Science, were named to receive the Prize, the oldest award conferred by the American Association for...Researchers at MIT and Rice University have discovered that microRNAs, an emerging class of non-protein gene regulators thus far only identified in animals, also exist in plants. By extending the known phylogenetic range of miRNAs to plants, this work points to an ancient evolutionary origin for microRNAs. The report is published in the July 1 issue of the scientific journal Genes & Development.....Scientists have discovered a novel protein complex that may help shed light on the function of a newly discovered class of small RNAs, as well as a common hereditary neurodegenerative disease. ......An international research group, headed by Dr. Gideon Dreyfuss at UPENN School of Medicine, has successfully identified 31 novel very small RNAs, called microRNAs (miRNAs), and the protein complex th...... ... Small RNAs (sRNAs) are important regulatory molecules found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Although hundreds of sRNAs are found in eukaryotic cells, only thirteen have been identified in E. coli. ... A highly anticipated paper in G&D will add seventeen previously unidentified sRNAs to this list, and provide a starting point for resolving an intriguing biological debate.... U...