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Ugolini M, Kerlin MA, Kuznetsova K, Oda H, Kimura H, Vastenhouw NL. Transcription bodies regulate gene expression by sequestering CDK9. Nat Cell Biol 2024; 26:604-612. [PMID: 38589534 PMCID: PMC11021188 DOI: 10.1038/s41556-024-01389-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
The localization of transcriptional activity in specialized transcription bodies is a hallmark of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. It remains unclear, however, if and how transcription bodies affect gene expression. Here we disrupted the formation of two prominent endogenous transcription bodies that mark the onset of zygotic transcription in zebrafish embryos and analysed the effect on gene expression using enriched SLAM-seq and live-cell imaging. We find that the disruption of transcription bodies results in the misregulation of hundreds of genes. Here we focus on genes that are upregulated. These genes have accessible chromatin and are poised to be transcribed in the presence of the two transcription bodies, but they do not go into elongation. Live-cell imaging shows that disruption of the two large transcription bodies enables these poised genes to be transcribed in ectopic transcription bodies, suggesting that the large transcription bodies sequester a pause release factor. Supporting this hypothesis, we find that CDK9-the kinase that releases paused polymerase II-is highly enriched in the two large transcription bodies. Overexpression of CDK9 in wild-type embryos results in the formation of ectopic transcription bodies and thus phenocopies the removal of the two large transcription bodies. Taken together, our results show that transcription bodies regulate transcription by sequestering machinery, thereby preventing genes elsewhere in the nucleus from being transcribed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martino Ugolini
- Center for Integrative Genomics (CIG), University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Dresden, Germany
| | - Maciej A Kerlin
- Center for Integrative Genomics (CIG), University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ksenia Kuznetsova
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Dresden, Germany
| | - Haruka Oda
- Cell Biology Center, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
- Institute of Human Genetics, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Hiroshi Kimura
- Cell Biology Center, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Nadine L Vastenhouw
- Center for Integrative Genomics (CIG), University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Dresden, Germany.
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2
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Jiang Z, El-Brolosy MA, Serobyan V, Welker JM, Retzer N, Dooley CM, Jakutis G, Juan T, Fukuda N, Maischein HM, Balciunas D, Stainier DY. Parental mutations influence wild-type offspring via transcriptional adaptation. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabj2029. [PMID: 36427314 PMCID: PMC9699682 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj2029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI) is mostly discussed in the context of physiological or environmental factors. Here, we show intergenerational and transgenerational inheritance of transcriptional adaptation (TA), a process whereby mutant messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation affects gene expression, in nematodes and zebrafish. Wild-type offspring of animals heterozygous for mRNA-destabilizing alleles display increased expression of adapting genes. Notably, offspring of animals heterozygous for nontranscribing alleles do not display this response. Germline-specific mutations are sufficient to induce TA in wild-type offspring, indicating that, at least for some genes, mutations in somatic tissues are not necessary for this process. Microinjecting total RNA from germ cells of TA-displaying heterozygous zebrafish can trigger TA in wild-type embryos and in their progeny, suggesting a model whereby mutant mRNAs in the germline trigger a TA response that can be epigenetically inherited. In sum, this previously unidentified mode of TEI reveals a means by which parental mutations can modulate the offspring's transcriptome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Jiang
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI), Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Mohamed A. El-Brolosy
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Vahan Serobyan
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI), Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Jordan M. Welker
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Nicholas Retzer
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Christopher M. Dooley
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Gabrielius Jakutis
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Thomas Juan
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Nana Fukuda
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Hans-Martin Maischein
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Darius Balciunas
- Department of Biology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Didier Y.R. Stainier
- Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Department of Developmental Genetics, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Bad Nauheim, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI), Bad Nauheim, Germany
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3
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Moreno S, Brunner M, Delazer I, Rieder D, Lusser A, Micura R. Synthesis of 4-thiouridines with prodrug functionalization for RNA metabolic labeling. RSC Chem Biol 2022; 3:447-455. [PMID: 35441143 PMCID: PMC8985182 DOI: 10.1039/d2cb00001f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolic labeling has emerged as a powerful tool to endow RNA with reactive handles allowing for subsequent chemical derivatization and processing. Recently, thiolated nucleosides, such as 4-thiouridine (4sU), have attracted great interest in metabolic labeling-based RNA sequencing approaches (TUC-seq, SLAM-seq, TimeLapse-seq) to study cellular RNA expression and decay dynamics. For these and other applications (e.g. PAR-CLIP), thus far only the naked nucleoside 4sU has been applied. Here we examined the concept of derivatizing 4sU into a 5′-monophosphate prodrug that would allow for cell permeation and potentially improve labeling efficiency by bypassing the rate-limiting first step of 5′ phosphorylation of the nucleoside into the ultimately bioactive 4sU triphosphate (4sUTP). To this end, we developed robust synthetic routes towards diverse 4sU monophosphate prodrugs. Using metabolic labeling assays, we found that most of the newly introduced 4sU prodrugs were well tolerated by the cells. One derivative, the bis(4-acetyloxybenzyl) 5′-monophosphate of 4sU, was also efficiently incorporated into nascent RNA. Synthetic access to 4-thiouridine (4sU) derivatives with monophosphate prodrug patterns creates additional possibilities for metabolic labeling of RNA for different applications.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Moreno
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Melanie Brunner
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Biocenter, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Isabel Delazer
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Biocenter, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Dietmar Rieder
- Institute of Bioinformatics, Biocenter, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innrain 82, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Alexandra Lusser
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Biocenter, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Ronald Micura
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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4
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Abstract
Genetic robustness, or the ability of an organism to maintain fitness in the presence of mutations, can be achieved via protein feedback loops. Recent evidence suggests that organisms may also respond to mutations by upregulating related gene(s) independently of protein feedback loops, a phenomenon called transcriptional adaptation. However, the prevalence of transcriptional adaptation and its underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. Here, by analyzing several models of transcriptional adaptation in zebrafish and mouse, we show a requirement for mRNA degradation. Alleles that fail to transcribe the mutated gene do not display transcriptional adaptation and exhibit more severe phenotypes than alleles displaying mutant mRNA decay. Transcriptome analysis reveals the upregulation of a substantial proportion of the genes that exhibit sequence similarity with the mutated gene’s mRNA, suggesting a sequence dependent mechanism. Besides implications for our understanding of disease-causing mutations, these findings will help design mutant alleles with minimal transcriptional adaptation-derived compensation.
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