Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 185 South Orange Avenue, PO Box 1709, Newark, New Jersey 07101-1709, USA.
RNA duplexes have been catapulted into the spotlight by the discovery of RNA interference and related phenomena. But double-stranded and highly structured RNAs have long been recognized as key players in cell processes ranging from RNA maturation and localization to the antiviral response in higher organisms. Penetrating insights into the metabolism and functions of such RNAs have come from the identification and study of proteins that contain the double-stranded-RNA-binding motif.