Work

Compatibility with Killer Explains the Rise of RNAi-Deficient Fungi

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: The RNA interference (RNAi) pathway is found in most eukaryotic lineages but curiously is absent in others, including that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We show that reconstituting RNAi in S. cerevisiae causes loss of a beneficial double-stranded RNA virus known as killer virus. Incompatibility between RNAi and killer viruses extends to other fungal species in that RNAi is absent in all species known to possess double-stranded RNA killer viruses, whereas killer viruses are absent in closely related species that retained RNAi. Thus, the advantage imparted by acquiring and retaining killer viruses explains the persistence of RNAi-deficient species during fungal evolution.

Source: Science

DOI: 10.1126/science.1209575

Authors: Ines A. Drinnenberg, Gerald R. Fink, David P. Bartel

Institutions: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Plant and Fungal Interactions Research

Subfield: Endocrinology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences