Biologia Molecular: Acesso Aberto

RNA Interference (RNAi) as a metronome of the circadian cadence

Abstract

Utpal Bhadra, Paromita Das and Manika Pal-Bhadra

The circadian clock of an organism is intricately entwined between a multitude of intercellular and intracellular networks consolidating the physiological activities into a refined rhythmic pattern. The key to these rhythms lie in their exceptional competence in either self-sustaining or in resetting themselves to the most suitable stimuli, neglecting the irrelevant ones. Apart from the prevalent notion about the dominant role of transcription and translation in the clock regulation, recent findings have unfurled the importance of post-transcription and post-translation in modulating the same. This review aims at evolving a new player in clock control via the incredible phenomena of RNA interference (RNAi), which is executed mainly through the microRNAs and the long non-coding RNAs. It enlightens us with replete evidences that effectively establish the cryptic yet enigmatic role of different core components of RNA interference and their machinery in the modulation of all the unexplored facets for the sustenance and constancy of the biological rhythm.