The assembly of heterochromatin in eukaryotic genomes is critical for diverse chromosomal events including regulation of gene expression, silencing of repetitive DNA elements, proper segregation of chromosomes and maintenance of genomic integrity. Previous studies have shown that noncoding RNAs and the RNA interference (RNAi) machinery promote the assembly of heterochromatin that serves as a multipurpose platform for targeting effectors involved in various chromosomal processes. Recent work has revealed that RNAi-independent mechanisms, involving RNA processing activities that utilize both noncoding and coding RNAs, operate in the assembly of heterochromatin. These findings have established that, in addition to coding for proteins, mRNAs also function as signaling molecules that modify chromatin structure by targeting heterochromatin assembly factors.

中文翻译：

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裂殖酵母中 RNAi 和不依赖 RNAi 的 RNA 加工因子以不同的方式、相同的末端异染色质形成。


真核基因组中异染色质的组装对于多种染色体事件至关重要，包括基因表达的调节、重复DNA元件的沉默、染色体的正确分离和基因组完整性的维持。先前的研究表明，非编码 RNA 和 RNA 干扰 (RNAi) 机制可促进异染色质的组装，异染色质可作为针对参与各种染色体过程的效应子的多用途平台。最近的研究表明，独立于 RNAi 的机制，涉及利用非编码和编码 RNA 的 RNA 加工活动，在异染色质的组装中发挥作用。这些发现表明，除了编码蛋白质之外，mRNA 还充当信号分子，通过靶向异染色质组装因子来修饰染色质结构。