Transport of dsRNA into Cells by the Transmembrane Protein SID-1
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) spreads systemically in plants and nematodes to silence gene expression distant from the site of initiation. We previously identified a gene, sid-1, essential for systemic but not cell-autonomous RNAi in Caenorhabditis elegans. Here, we demonstrate that SID-1 is a multispan transmembrane protein that sensitizes Drosophila cells to soaking RNAi with a potency that is dependent on double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) length. Further analyses revealed that SID-1 enables passive cellular uptake of dsRNA. These data indicate that systemic RNAi in C. elegans involves SID-1-mediated intercellular transport of dsRNA.
- Publication:
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Science
- Pub Date:
- September 2003
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.1087117
- Bibcode:
- 2003Sci...301.1545F
- Keywords:
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- MOLEC BIO