%0 Journal Article
%T Function and Evolution of Nematode RNAi Pathways
%A Miguel A. Andrade-Navarro
%A Miguel Vasconcelos Almeida
%A Ren¨¦ F. Ketting
%J Archive of "Non-Coding RNA".
%D 2019
%R 10.3390/ncrna5010008
%X Selfish genetic elements, like transposable elements or viruses, are a threat to genomic stability. A variety of processes, including small RNA-based RNA interference (RNAi)-like pathways, has evolved to counteract these elements. Amongst these, endogenous small interfering RNA and Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathways were implicated in silencing selfish genetic elements in a variety of organisms. Nematodes have several incredibly specialized, rapidly evolving endogenous RNAi-like pathways serving such purposes. Here, we review recent research regarding the RNAi-like pathways of Caenorhabditis elegans as well as those of other nematodes, to provide an evolutionary perspective. We argue that multiple nematode RNAi-like pathways share piRNA-like properties and together form a broad nematode toolkit that allows for silencing of foreign genetic elements
%K small RNA
%K piRNA
%K 22G RNA
%K 26G RNA
%K 21U RNA
%K siRNA
%K Argonaute
%K RdRP
%K Piwi
%K C. elegans
%K nematode
%U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6468775/