The role of miRNAs and endogenous siRNAs in maternal-to-zygotic reprogramming and the establishment of pluripotency

• Published in: EMBO reports Vol. 11; no. 8; pp. 590 - 597
• Main Authors: Svoboda, Petr, Flemr, Matyas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-08-2010; Nature Publishing Group UK; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Animals; Base Sequence; Cells; Dgcr8; Dicer; EMBO11; EMBO36; Humans; Mammals; MicroRNAs - classification; MicroRNAs - genetics; MicroRNAs - metabolism; miR-290; Molecular Sequence Data; oocyte; Oocytes - cytology; Oocytes - physiology; Phylogeny; pluripotency; Pluripotent Stem Cells - cytology; Pluripotent Stem Cells - physiology; Review; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA Interference; RNA, Small Interfering - genetics; RNA, Small Interfering - metabolism; RNAi; Sequence Alignment; Zygote - cytology; Zygote - physiology; Dgcr8; RNAi; oocyte; pluripotency; Dicer; miR‐290
• ISSN: 1469-221X; 1469-3178
• DOI: 10.1038/embor.2010.102

RNA silencing is a complex of mechanisms that regulate gene expression through small RNA molecules. The microRNA (miRNA) pathway is the most common of these in mammals. Genome‐encoded miRNAs suppress translation in a sequence‐specific manner and facilitate shifts in gene expression during developmental transitions. Here, we discuss the role of miRNAs in oocyte‐to‐zygote transition and in the control of pluripotency. Existing data suggest a common principle involving miRNAs in defining pluripotent and differentiated cells. RNA silencing pathways also rapidly evolve, resulting in many unique features of RNA silencing in different taxonomic groups. This is exemplified in the mouse model of oocyte‐to‐zygote transition, in which the endogenous RNA interference pathway has acquired a novel role in regulating protein‐coding genes, while the miRNA pathway has become transiently suppressed.
In some cases, the molecular mechanisms underlying developmental potential are not strongly conserved. Should the RNA silencing mechanisms underlying oocyte‐to‐zygote transition and pluripotency in mammals be viewed as unique solutions superimposed on broader general principles?