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Rebecca Schwab

Bio: Rebecca Schwab is an academic researcher from Max Planck Society. The author has contributed to research in topics: Arabidopsis thaliana & Gene. The author has an hindex of 17, co-authored 32 publications receiving 6861 citations. Previous affiliations of Rebecca Schwab include Centre national de la recherche scientifique.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
18 Sep 2003-Nature
TL;DR: The JAW locus is identified, which produces a microRNA that can guide messenger RNA cleavage of several TCP genes controlling leaf development, indicating that microRNA-mediated control of leaf morphogenesis is conserved in plants with very different leaf forms.
Abstract: Plants with altered microRNA metabolism have pleiotropic developmental defects, but direct evidence for microRNAs regulating specific aspects of plant morphogenesis has been lacking In a genetic screen, we identified the JAW locus, which produces a microRNA that can guide messenger RNA cleavage of several TCP genes controlling leaf development MicroRNA-guided cleavage of TCP4 mRNA is necessary to prevent aberrant activity of the TCP4 gene expressed from its native promoter In addition, overexpression of wild-type and microRNA-resistant TCP variants demonstrates that mRNA cleavage is largely sufficient to restrict TCP function to its normal domain of activity TCP genes with microRNA target sequences are found in a wide range of species, indicating that microRNA-mediated control of leaf morphogenesis is conserved in plants with very different leaf forms

1,701 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that miR172, previously thought to act primarily by translational repression, can efficiently guide mRNA cleavage, although the effects on steady-state levels of target transcripts are obscured by strong feedback regulation.

1,385 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The specificity of ami RNAs, as deduced from genome-wide expression profiling, was as high as that of natural plant miRNAs, supporting the notion that extensive base pairing with targets is required for plant miRNA function.
Abstract: Plant microRNAs (miRNAs) affect only a small number of targets with high sequence complementarity, while animal miRNAs usually have hundreds of targets with limited complementarity. We used artificial miRNAs (amiRNAs) to determine whether the narrow action spectrum of natural plant miRNAs reflects only intrinsic properties of the plant miRNA machinery or whether it is also due to past selection against natural miRNAs with broader specificity. amiRNAs were designed to target individual genes or groups of endogenous genes. Like natural miRNAs, they had varying numbers of target mismatches. Previously determined parameters of target selection for natural miRNAs could accurately predict direct targets of amiRNAs. The specificity of amiRNAs, as deduced from genome-wide expression profiling, was as high as that of natural plant miRNAs, supporting the notion that extensive base pairing with targets is required for plant miRNA function. amiRNAs make an effective tool for specific gene silencing in plants, especially when several related, but not identical, target genes need to be downregulated. We demonstrate that amiRNAs are also active when expressed under tissue-specific or inducible promoters, with limited nonautonomous effects. The design principles for amiRNAs have been generalized and integrated into a Web-based tool (http://wmd.weigelworld.org).

1,329 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review various strategies for small RNA-based gene silencing, and describe in detail the design and application of amiRNAs in many plant species.
Abstract: Comprehensive analysis of gene function requires the detailed examination of mutant alleles In Arabidopsis thaliana, large collections of sequence-indexed insertion and chemical mutants provide potential loss-of-function alleles for most annotated genes However, limitations for phenotypic analysis include gametophytic or early sporophytic lethality, and the ability to recombine mutant alleles in closely linked genes, especially those present as tandem duplications Transgene-mediated gene silencing can overcome some of these shortcomings through tissue-specific, inducible and partial gene inactivation, or simultaneous targeting of several, sequence-related genes In addition, gene silencing is a convenient approach in species or varieties for which exhaustive mutant collections are not yet available Typically, gene function is reduced post-transcriptionally, effected by small RNAs that act in a sequence-specific manner by base pairing to complementary mRNA molecules A recently introduced approach is the use of artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) Here, we review various strategies for small RNA-based gene silencing, and describe in detail the design and application of amiRNAs in many plant species

659 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
21 Sep 2007-Cell
TL;DR: PP2A phosphatase is identified as an important regulator of PIN apical-basal targeting and auxin distribution and switches in the direction of intercellular auxin fluxes, which mediate differential growth, tissue patterning, and organogenesis in plants.

634 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
23 Jan 2004-Cell
TL;DR: Although they escaped notice until relatively recently, miRNAs comprise one of the more abundant classes of gene regulatory molecules in multicellular organisms and likely influence the output of many protein-coding genes.

32,946 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Two founding members of the microRNA family were originally identified in Caenorhabditis elegans as genes that were required for the timed regulation of developmental events and indicate the existence of multiple RISCs that carry out related but specific biological functions.
Abstract: MicroRNAs are a family of small, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression in a sequence-specific manner. The two founding members of the microRNA family were originally identified in Caenorhabditis elegans as genes that were required for the timed regulation of developmental events. Since then, hundreds of microRNAs have been identified in almost all metazoan genomes, including worms, flies, plants and mammals. MicroRNAs have diverse expression patterns and might regulate various developmental and physiological processes. Their discovery adds a new dimension to our understanding of complex gene regulatory networks.

6,282 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: I MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of small non-protein-coding RNAs that function as negative gene regulators as discussed by the authors, and have been shown to repress the expression of important cancer-related genes and might prove useful in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Abstract: I MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of small non-protein-coding RNAs that function as negative gene regulators. They regulate diverse biological processes, and bioinformatic data indicates that each miRNA can control hundreds of gene targets, underscoring the potential influence of miRNAs on almost every genetic pathway. Recent evidence has shown that miRNA mutations or mis-expression correlate with various human cancers and indicates that miRNAs can function as tumour suppressors and oncogenes. miRNAs have been shown to repress the expression of important cancer-related genes and might prove useful in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

6,064 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Evidence has shown that miRNA mutations or mis-expression correlate with various human cancers and indicates that miRNAs can function as tumour suppressors and oncogenes.
Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of small non-protein-coding RNAs that function as negative gene regulators They regulate diverse biological processes, and bioinformatic data indicates that each miRNA can control hundreds of gene targets, underscoring the potential influence of miRNAs on almost every genetic pathway Recent evidence has shown that miRNA mutations or mis-expression correlate with various human cancers and indicates that miRNAs can function as tumour suppressors and oncogenes miRNAs have been shown to repress the expression of important cancer-related genes and might prove useful in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer

5,693 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
26 Dec 2003-Cell
TL;DR: The predicted regulatory targets of mammalian miRNAs were enriched for genes involved in transcriptional regulation but also encompassed an unexpectedly broad range of other functions.

5,246 citations