InterPro domain: IPR016685

This entry represents the Tudor staphylococcal nuclease (Tudor-SN) subunit of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) [ 1 , 2 ]. RISC is central to the mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi), which is triggered by the presence of dsRNA, resulting in silencing of the cognate gene. In RNAi, dsRNA is processed by RNase III ribonucleases (from Dicer family) to yield small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which are unwound and incorporated into the RISC ribonucleoprotein complex that ultimately targets the cognate mRNA. Various components of the RISC have been identified that are highly conserved between species. In Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly) these subunits include the proteins Argonaute2, VIG, FXR and Tudor-SN. Tudor-SN binds to hyper-edited double-stranded RNA and promotes its cleavage.

1. The RISC subunit Tudor-SN binds to hyper-edited double-stranded RNA and promotes its cleavage. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 12, 489-96
2. Tudor nuclease genes and programmed DNA rearrangements in Tetrahymena thermophila. Eukaryotic Cell 6, 1795-804