Professor KIM Vic Narryspan>

Professor V. Narry Kim (director of the Center for RNA Research, Institute for Basic Science) has reported the X-ray structure of DROSHA, a class 2 ribonuclease III enzyme that in humans is encoded by the DROSHA (formerly RNASE) gene. DROSHA is a key factor in creating microRNA which functions in RNA silencing and regulation of gene expression. Professor Kim found that DROSHA contains two DGCR8-binding sites, one on each RNase III domain (RIIID), which mediate the assembly of Microprocessor. The overall structure of DROSHA is surprisingly similar to that of Dicer, suggesting that DROSHA may have evolved from a Dicer homolog. DROSHA exhibits unique features, including non-canonical zinc-finger motifs, a long insertion in the first RIIID, and the kinked link between Connector helix and RIIID. This research was published online in Cell on December 31, 2015.

Published in Kyunghyang Shinmun

Summary by LEE Hee Un, SNU English Editor, gurume0221@snu.ac.kr
Proofread by Melora Brett Briana Johnson, morningcalm2@gmail.com