Talk:Argonaute

etymology of term Argonaute
So, does anyone know whither their name? What's with the Argonaut reference? DS 13:48, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I've updated it with the etymology. --Rajah 21:51, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Where? Oo i don't see any etymology.. --Pramit57 February 3, 2015


 * Could this potentially be moved into its own "History and discovery" section instead of being included in the article lead? Danstrib (talk) 20:42, 31 August 2019 (UTC)

miRNA-RISC complexes
Could someone add the mechanism of incorporating and function of miRNA-RISC complexes?Justin Silverman (talk) 06:05, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

credit and citation of paper By J.J.Song
Song, et al. Science 305, 1434(2004) (Ji-Joon Song) Crystal Structure of Argonaute and its implications for RISC slicer activity

is the first paper to crystalize/and find the structure of Argonaute proteins.

It is also the first paper to find a protein to have the 'slicer' activity. In other words, it is the first paper to indicate that the Argonaute proteins has a unique slicer activity.

Citation of this paper and acknowledgement should be given. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 143.248.103.40 (talk) 05:48, 21 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Crystal structure of Argonaute and its implications for RISC slicer activity. Could mention at the end of the Discovery section ? - Rod57 (talk) 12:12, 13 February 2017 (UTC)

Use as artificial restriction enzyme for DNA
Revolutionizing Biotechnology with Artificial Restriction Enzymes. (reporting on Programmable DNA-Guided Artificial Restriction Enzymes) could perhaps be mentioned in this article ... Done. - Rod57 (talk) 11:41, 13 February 2017 (UTC)

Proposed merge of Piwi into Argonaute
The two articles are talking about the same protein family here (PMID 9851978), defined by the presence of a conserved Piwi domain, a PAZ domain, and other smaller bits. We could use a page that focuses specifically on the Piwi domain, but in its current shape the "Piwi" page is wholly inadequate. Artoria2e5 🌉 12:41, 2 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Oppose, given that there isn't consensus that the families are the same. Certainly, they share a Piwi domain, but seem to have different members. Some argue that the functional differences between Piwi and Argonaute proteins (e.g., slicer activity, target RNA preference) are significant enough to warrant separate families. While both families share core domains necessary for RNA binding, they have diverged in other domains and evolved distinct mechanisms for RNA silencing. The debate ultimately boils down to how strictly we define protein families and how much weight we give to structural similarities versus functional differences. The 1998 article you cite (PMID 9851978 =
 * The similarities are pointed out. However, recent reviews identify two clades. For example, in:
 * the argonaute family is divided into two distinct clades: AGO (eAGO) and PIWI (ePIWI). Klbrain (talk) 12:31, 22 December 2023 (UTC)
 * the argonaute family is divided into two distinct clades: AGO (eAGO) and PIWI (ePIWI). Klbrain (talk) 12:31, 22 December 2023 (UTC)
 * the argonaute family is divided into two distinct clades: AGO (eAGO) and PIWI (ePIWI). Klbrain (talk) 12:31, 22 December 2023 (UTC)