Argonautes (Ago) are a family of proteins that fulfil an essential role in the small RNA silencing pathway as “slicers.” These proteins cleave target RNA strands using an siRNA as a guide. As such, the Ago+siRNA complex forms the main component of the RNA-induced silencing complex. While four different types of Ago proteins have been identified in humans, only one, hAgo2, shows slicing activity; while the other Ago proteins, despite having very similar structural conformations to hAgo2, are not slicers in the wild-type form. As such, a 2013 study set out to elucidate the molecular structure of the inactive hAgo1, and to identify peptide domains and amino acid residues involved in the catalytic activity of hAgo2 that have been altered in hAgo1 and other hAgo proteins. The protein model above and the description of the annotated features have been adapted from this study.
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Reference DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2013.05.033
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