In this episode, we travel back to one of the great origin stories in gene regulation: the discovery of lin-4, the first-ever microRNA. In Caenorhabditis elegans, scientists found that tiny non-coding RNAs could silence gene expression by pairing with target mRNAs — launching the entire field of microRNA biology.We explore:How lin-4 regulates developmental timing by repressing LIN-14 proteinThe discovery of small RNAs (22 and 61 nucleotides) as gene regulatorsThe first evidence for RNA-RNA antisense interactions controlling translationWhy this work reshaped our understanding of gene expression across speciesHow a worm taught us that not all genes code for proteins📖 Based on the research article:"The C. elegans Heterochronic Gene lin-4 Encodes Small RNAs with Antisense Complementarity to lin-14"Rosalind C. Lee, Rhonda L. Feinbaum & Victor Ambros.Published in Cell (1993).🔗 https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-8674(93)90529-Y🎧 Subscribe to the WOrM Podcast for more whole-organism breakthroughs that reshaped biology!🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related