---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: hybrid
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '22941'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Argonaute proteins mediate RNA interference in eukaryotes and nucleic‐acid
    defence in prokaryotes. Although these systems operate in distinct biological
    contexts and produce diverse downstream outcomes, they share a conserved structural
    architecture and mechanism of guide‐dependent target recognition. Here, we argue
    that Argonautes function as programmable surveillance platforms that kinetically
    sample nucleic acids, engage targets through sequential pairing and conformational
    checkpoints, and couple recognition to functional outputs through regulated structural
    transitions. Rather than representing distinct recognition mechanisms, the diverse
    targeting behaviours observed across Argonaute families reflect different implementations
    of this shared framework, in which guide biogenesis, target accessibility, pairing
    requirements and effector coupling are weighted differently according to biological
    context. Viewing Argonautes through this common operational logic reconciles apparent
    differences in specificity, mismatch tolerance and target selection across systems,
    while providing a unified conceptual framework for understanding their evolution
    and guiding the engineering of programmable nucleic‐acid recognition technologies.
acknowledgement: I would like to thank K. Kiernan and F. Alcon for insightful comments
  and feedback. We acknowledge support from ISTA and from the Austrian Science Fund
  (FWF) (10.55776/PAT1617625). The author used Claude (Anthropic) to assist with improving
  the clarity and readability of portions of the manuscript. All scientific content,
  interpretation and conclusions were conceived, verified and approved by the author,
  who takes full responsibility for the final manuscript. Open Access funding provided
  by Institute of Science and Technology Austria.
article_number: 1873-3468.70450
article_processing_charge: Yes (via OA deal)
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Jack Peter Kelly
  full_name: Bravo, Jack Peter Kelly
  id: 96aecfa5-8931-11ee-af30-aa6a5d6eee0e
  last_name: Bravo
  orcid: 0000-0003-0456-0753
citation:
  ama: Bravo JPK. ‘Guide and Prejudice’ -  How Argonautes recognize targets across
    domains of life. <i>FEBS Letters</i>. 2026. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70450">10.1002/1873-3468.70450</a>
  apa: Bravo, J. P. K. (2026). ‘Guide and Prejudice’ -  How Argonautes recognize targets
    across domains of life. <i>FEBS Letters</i>. Wiley. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70450">https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70450</a>
  chicago: Bravo, Jack Peter Kelly. “‘Guide and Prejudice’ -  How Argonautes Recognize
    Targets across Domains of Life.” <i>FEBS Letters</i>. Wiley, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70450">https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70450</a>.
  ieee: J. P. K. Bravo, “‘Guide and Prejudice’ -  How Argonautes recognize targets
    across domains of life,” <i>FEBS Letters</i>. Wiley, 2026.
  ista: Bravo JPK. 2026. ‘Guide and Prejudice’ -  How Argonautes recognize targets
    across domains of life. FEBS Letters., 1873–3468.70450.
  mla: Bravo, Jack Peter Kelly. “‘Guide and Prejudice’ -  How Argonautes Recognize
    Targets across Domains of Life.” <i>FEBS Letters</i>, 1873–3468.70450, Wiley,
    2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70450">10.1002/1873-3468.70450</a>.
  short: J.P.K. Bravo, FEBS Letters (2026).
corr_author: '1'
das_tickbox: '0'
date_created: 2026-09-17T09:31:02Z
date_published: 2026-09-08T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-09-17T11:48:51Z
day: '08'
ddc:
- '570'
department:
- _id: JaBr
doi: 10.1002/1873-3468.70450
external_id:
  pmid:
  - '42711859'
fulldoi: https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70450
has_accepted_license: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70450
month: '09'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
pmid: 1
project:
- _id: 9f295cab-ad08-11f1-bc83-9e197d0f6d50
  grant_number: PAT1617625
  name: 'Search & Destroy: Mechanisms of anti-plasmid immunity'
publication: FEBS Letters
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1873-3468
  issn:
  - 0014-5793
publication_status: epub_ahead
publisher: Wiley
quality_controlled: '1'
researchdata_availability: no
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
supplementarymaterial: no
title: ‘Guide and Prejudice’ -  How Argonautes recognize targets across domains of
  life
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
year: '2026'
...