DCL2 — Arabidopsis thaliana

Summary

AT3G03300 (DCL2) encodes a Dicer-like 2 protein in Arabidopsis thaliana, a ribonuclease III family enzyme with helicase, dsRNA-binding, and PAZ domains. DCL2 is associated with RNA interference pathways, including pre-miRNA and long siRNA processing, viral gene expression, and systemic antiviral silencing. It is linked to transgenerational insect resistance, egg cell development, and response to UV-A. The protein localizes to cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein granules, the nucleolus, and nuclear speckles. DCL2 is associated with numerous traits including leaf morphology, floral organ development, seed size, stem length, viral disease response, herbicide sensitivity, and osmotic stress sensitivity. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to virus resistance, fungal disease resistance, and posttranscriptional gene silencing.