New function of DICER protein found in plant

An article in Science Daily recently stated that researchers found the function of DICER protein DCL4, in Arabidopsis thaliana, a type of flowering plant. The protein, which is known to produce tiny RNAs, previously had no known function besides producing RNAs.  Scientists now know that the DICER protein is also involved in the termination processes of transcription. DCL4 plays a part in gene silencing at the end of the termination process of transcription. Scientists say that gene silencing is just as important as the formation of gene product. So, paying more attention to the end of the termination processes is crucial, says Professor Caroline Dean from JIC, which is strategically funded by BBSRC. “When termination fails a lot of aberrant RNA is made -- this is degraded as part of a cell's quality control mechanism. This can have consequences for other sequences in the genome that match the aberrant RNA.” "If a gene ends badly, aberrant RNA will trigger silencing pathways," said Dean. This shows that if the there is an error in termination, DCL4 will step in and try to correct the mistakes taken place.