meiRNA, A Polyvalent Player in Fission Yeast Meiosis

• Main Author: Akira Yamashita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-09-01
• Series: Non-Coding RNA
• Subjects: non-coding RNA; nuclear body; meiosis; fission yeast; gene expression; chromosome pairing
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-553X/5/3/45

A growing number of recent studies have revealed that non-coding RNAs play a wide variety of roles beyond expectation. A lot of non-coding RNAs have been shown to function by forming intracellular structures either in the nucleus or the cytoplasm. In the fission yeast <i>Schizosaccharomyces pombe</i>, a non-coding RNA termed meiRNA has been shown to play multiple vital roles in the course of meiosis. meiRNA is tethered to its genetic locus after transcription and forms a peculiar intranuclear dot structure. It ensures stable expression of meiotic genes in cooperation with an RNA-binding protein Mei2. Chromosome-associated meiRNA also facilitates recognition of homologous chromosome loci and induces robust pairing. In this review, the quarter-century history of meiRNA, from its identification to functional characterization, will be outlined.