Figure 5. AGO18 competes with AGO1 for miR168 in vitro.
Specific AGO18–miR168 interaction was confirmed by in vitro assays in N. benthamiana. Constructs with the indicated combinations were introduced into N. benthamiana leaves for transient expression by agro-infiltration. Northern blots were conducted with total RNA (Input) and small RNAs recovered from immunoprecipitated AGO complexes (IP). Western blot analyses were done with the crude extract and aliquots of the IP products using anti-Flag or anti-Myc antibodies. The positions of RNA size markers are shown on the left of the blots. U6 was probed and served as a loading control.