| | | In Arabidopsis thaliana, four different DICER-LIKE (DCL) proteins have distinct, but partially overlapping functions in the biogenesis of microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) from longer, non-coding precursor RNAs. To analyze the impact of different components of the small RNA (sRNA) biogenesis machinery on the transcriptome, we subjected dcl and other mutants impaired in sRNA biogenesis to whole-genome tiling array analysis. We compared both protein-coding genes and noncoding transcripts, including most pri-miRNAs, in two tissues and several stress conditions. We discovered distinct effects of dcl1, hyl1 and se mutations on the transcriptome, as well as a number of common genes affected in dcl1 and dcl2 dcl3 dcl4 triple mutants. Our results furthermore suggest that the DCL1 is not only involved in miRNA action, but can also contribute to silencing of certain transposons, apparently through an effect on DNA methylation. Together, our findings contribute to the knowledge of both specialization and overlap between different RNA silencing pathways. |
