Reference - PMID:27738016 - RNA interference is essential for cellular quiescence.

Reference summary

PubMed ID

PMID:27738016

Title

RNA interference is essential for cellular quiescence.

Authors

Roche B, Arcangioli B, Martienssen RA

Citation

Science 2016 Nov 11;354(6313)

Publication year

2016

Abstract

Quiescent cells play a predominant role in most organisms. Here we identify RNA interference (RNAi) as a major requirement for quiescence (G 0 phase of the cell cycle) in Schizosaccharomyces pombe RNAi mutants lose viability at G 0 entry and are unable to maintain long-term quiescence. We identified suppressors of G 0 defects in cells lacking Dicer (dcr1Δ), which mapped to genes involved in chromosome segregation, RNA polymerase-associated factors, and heterochromatin formation. We propose a model in which RNAi promotes the release of RNA polymerase in cycling and quiescent cells: (i) RNA polymerase II release mediates heterochromatin formation at centromeres, allowing proper chromosome segregation during mitotic growth and G 0 entry, and (ii) RNA polymerase I release prevents heterochromatin formation at ribosomal DNA during quiescence maintenance. Our model may account for the codependency of RNAi and histone H3 lysine 9 methylation throughout eukaryotic evolution.

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