Small RNAs in four Argonaute complexes in Arabidopsis. Arabidopsis thaliana

The core components of RNA silencing effector complexes include small RNAs and members of the Argonaute (AGO) protein family. Arabidopsis encodes ten AGOs and complex population of small RNAs. It remains largely unknown how these small RNAs are recognized and recruited by each AGO complex. Here we purified four AGO complexes and identified small RNAs in each complex by deep sequencing. Keywords: Small RNA sorting Overall design: Small RNAs were prepared from Arabidopsis AGO1, AGO2, AGO4 and AGO5 complexes, ligated to a 3' adaptor and a 5' acceptor sequentially, and then RT-PCR amplified. PCR products were reamplified using a pair of solexa cloning primers and then provided for sequencing. For technical details, see Qi, Y., He, X., Wang, X.J., Kohany, O., Jurka, J., and Hannon, G.J. 2006. Distinct catalytic and non-catalytic roles of ARGONAUTE4 in RNA-directed DNA methylation. Nature 443(7114): 1008-1012.