The versatility of RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RDRPs) in eukaryotic gene silencing is perhaps best illustrated in the kingdom Fungi. Biochemical and genetic studies of Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Neurospora crassa show that these types of enzymes are involved in a number of fundamental gene-silencing processes, including heterochromatin regulation and RNA silencing in S. pombe and meiotic ...

Viral infection in both plant and invertebrate hosts requires a virus-encoded function to block the RNA silencing antiviral defense. Here, we report the identification and characterization of three distinct suppressors of RNA silencing encoded by the approximately 20-kb plus-strand RNA genome of citrus tristeza virus (CTV). When introduced by genetic crosses into plants carrying a silencing tra...

Polycomb group (PcG) and trithorax (trxG) proteins are evolutionary conserved factors that contribute to cell fate determination maintenance of cellular identities during development multicellular organisms. The PcG maintains heritable patterns gene silencing while trxG acts as anti-silencing by conserving activation type specific genes. Genetic molecular analysis has revealed extensive details...