A load of small RNAs in the sperm-how many bits of hereditary information?

Abstract

Transcriptionally silent sperm contains a variety of RNA fragments of both coding and non-coding transcripts. A recent article by Peng and colleagues reveals several new families of small RNAs enriched in sperm, which are derived from the same locus as tRNAs. The finding of these short fragments of tRNA in the sperm raises once again the question of the possible function(s) of such a miniaturized form of information carried by the spermatozoon. © 2013 IBCB, SIBS, CAS All rights reserved.