Regulation of Small RNAs by Small Tandem Target Mimic (STTM) in Plants and Animals

Small RNAs are widespread in plants and animals. They largely include microRNAs (miRNAs) and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and they play key roles in gene and chromatin regulations. Here we present in detail the method of the recently developed short tandem target mimic (STTM) technology to block small RNA functions in plants and animals. STTM is a powerful technology complementing the previous target mimic (TM) in plants and the miRNA sponge, as well as the recently defined endogenous competing RNA (CeRNA) in animals. We expect STTM will not only be effective in blocking small RNA functions in plants but will also become a popular approach in animals.