Small RNA-mediated silencing of phototropin suppresses the induction of photoprotection in the green alga .

Small RNAs (sRNAs) form complexes with Argonaute proteins and bind to transcripts with complementary sequences to repress gene expression. sRNA-mediated regulation is conserved in a diverse range of eukaryotes and is involved in the control of various physiological functions. sRNAs are present in the unicellular green alga , and genetic analyses revealed that the core sRNA biogenesis and action mechanisms are conserved with those of multicellular organisms.