Decades of research in plants has established that the protein complexes that transcribe small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are not targeted to DNA in a sequence-specific manner. Two independent studies uncover the recruitment of the key siRNA-producing protein RNA polymerase IV mediated by transcription factors to specific DNA sequences.
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Pandesha, P., Slotkin, R.K. Transcription factor-mediated recruitment of small interfering RNA production. Nat. Plants 11, 2453–2454 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02169-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02169-5
