What makes human Argonaute 2 (Ago2) slicing competent in contrast to AGO1, 3 and 4, which lack RNA cleavage activity, has remained unclear. Now, a molecular evolution approach, called DNA family shuffle (DFS), reveals features of AGO1, 3 and 4 that explain their RNA-slicing deficiency and suggests the juxtaposition and combined action of multiple disseminated protein modules.
- Nina Schürmann
- Leonardo G Trabuco
- Dirk Grimm