Arginine methylation as a molecular signature of the Piwi small RNA pathway

Abstract

Almost all eukaryotes have small RNA pathways that regulate expression of protein-coding genes, control the activity of endogenous transposable elements and fight exogenous viral infection. Despite diversity of small RNA pathways functions and mechanisms, their core is conserved throughout evolution: it is an effector complex containing a small RNA that is tightly bound to a member of the Argonaute protein family. The small RNA provides specificity by recognition of complementary RNA targets. The Argonaute protein provides the effector function; it either destroys target RNA directly using its endonuclease activity or inhibits it indirectly, for example by recruiting additional protein factors that cause translational repression (in animals) or inducing changes in chromatin structure (in fission yeast and possibly some plants).

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