Description
Cis-natural antisense transcripts (cis-NATs) have been speculated to be substrates for endogenous RNA interference (RNAi), but little experimental evidence for such a pathway in animals has been reported. Analysis of massive Drosophila melanogaster small RNA data sets now reveals that endogenous small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are produced via bidirectional transcription. >100 cis-NATs with overlapping 3' exons generate 21-nt, Dicer-2 (Dcr-2)dependent, 3'-end modified siRNAs.