Germline Stem Cell Heterogeneity Supports Homeostasis in Drosophila

Can stable introns and noncoding RNAs be harnessed to improve health through activation of mitohormesis?

Ever since their introduction a decade ago, stable introns, a type of noncoding (nc)RNAs, are found to be key players in different important cellular processes acting through regulation of gene expression and feedback loops to maintain cellular homeostasis. Despite being commonly regarded as useless byproducts, recent studies in yeast suggested that stable introns are essential for cell survivability under starvation. In Drosophila, we found that a stable intron, sisR-1, has a direct effect in regulating mitochondrial dynamics during short-term fasting and subsequently improved overall oocyte quality. We speculated that the beneficial effects implicated by sisR-1 is through the activation of mitohormesis, an interesting phenomenon in mitochondrial biology. Mitohormesis is suggested to improve health span and lifespan of cells and organisms, but the involvement of ncRNAs is not well-documented. Here, we discuss the potential role of sisR-1 and other ncRNAs in activating mitohormesis and the possible applications in improving cellular and organismal health.

Nutrient-dependent regulation of a stable intron modulates germline mitochondrial quality control

Mitochondria are inherited exclusively from the mothers and are required for the proper development of embryos. Hence, germline mitochondrial quality is highly regulated during oogenesis to ensure oocyte viability. How nutrient availability influences germline mitochondrial quality control is unclear. Here we find that fasting leads to the accumulation of mitochondrial clumps and oogenesis arrest in Drosophila. Fasting induces the downregulation of the DIP1-Clueless pathway, leading to an increase in the expression of a stable intronic sequence RNA called sisR-1. Mechanistically, sisR-1 localizes to the mitochondrial clumps to inhibit the poly-ubiquitination of the outer mitochondrial protein Porin/VDAC1, thereby suppressing p62-mediated mitophagy. Alleviation of the fasting-induced high sisR-1 levels by either sisR-1 RNAi or refeeding leads to mitophagy, the resumption of oogenesis and an improvement in oocyte quality. Thus, our study provides a possible mechanism by which fasting can improve oocyte quality by modulating the mitochondrial quality control pathway. Of note, we uncover that the sisR-1 response also regulates mitochondrial clumping and oogenesis during protein deprivation, heat shock and aging, suggesting a broader role for this mechanism in germline mitochondrial quality control.

Distinct biogenesis pathways may have led to functional divergence of the human and Drosophila Arglu1 sisRNA

Stable intronic sequence RNAs (sisRNAs) are stable, long noncoding RNAs containing intronic sequences. While sisRNAs have been found across diverse species, their level of conservation remains poorly understood. Here we report that the biogenesis and functions of a sisRNA transcribed from the highly conserved Arglu1 locus are distinct in human and Drosophila melanogaster. The Arglu1 genes in both species show similar exon-intron structures where the intron 2 is orthologous and positionally conserved. In humans, Arglu1 sisRNA retains the entire intron 2 and promotes host gene splicing. Mechanistically, Arglu1 sisRNA represses the splicing-inhibitory activity of ARGLU1 protein by binding to ARGLU1 protein and promoting its localization to nuclear speckles, away from the Arglu1 gene locus. In contrast, Drosophila dArglu1 sisRNA forms via premature cleavage of intron 2 and represses host gene splicing. This repression occurs through a local accumulation of dARGLU1 protein and inhibition of telescripting by U1 snRNPs at the dArglu1 locus. We propose that distinct biogenesis of positionally conserved Arglu1 sisRNAs in both species may have led to functional divergence.

Maternal starvation primes progeny response to nutritional stress

Organisms adapt to environmental changes in order to survive. Mothers exposed to nutritional stresses can induce an adaptive response in their offspring. However, the molecular mechanisms behind such inheritable links are not clear. Here we report that in Drosophila, starvation of mothers primes the progeny against subsequent nutritional stress. We found that RpL10Ab represses TOR pathway activity by genetically interacting with TOR pathway components TSC2 and Rheb. In addition, starved mothers produce offspring with lower levels of RpL10Ab in the germline, which results in higher TOR pathway activity, conferring greater resistance to starvation-induced oocyte loss. The RpL10Ab locus encodes for the RpL10Ab mRNA and a stable intronic sequence RNA (sisR-8), which collectively repress RpL10Ab pre-mRNA splicing in a negative feedback mechanism. During starvation, an increase in maternally deposited RpL10Ab and sisR-8 transcripts leads to the reduction of RpL10Ab expression in the offspring. Our study suggests that the maternally deposited RpL10Ab and sisR-8 transcripts trigger a negative feedback loop that mediates intergenerational adaptation to nutritional stress as a starvation response.

In the wild, animals need to adapt to frequent changes in the environment. Mothers who are exposed to nutritional stresses are known to produce offspring which are preconditioned to adapt to the mothers’ environment. However, it is unclear how such maternal “memory” is being passed on to the offspring. Here we show that Drosophila mothers exposed to starvation produce offspring which are more resistant to starvation during oogenesis. This process is mediated by maternally inherited RpL10Ab mRNA and a stable intronic sequence RNA (sisR-8), which collectively repress the splicing of RpL10Ab pre-mRNA, leading to lower RpL10Ab expression in the offspring ovaries. As a consequence, lower RpL10Ab expression results in higher TOR pathway activity, conferring greater resistance to starvation during oogenesis. Hence, maternally inherited transcripts may play a role as mediators in conferring intergenerational adaption to starvation.

Circular sisRNA identification and characterisation

Stable Intronic Sequence RNA (sisRNA) is a relatively new class of non-coding RNA. Found in many organisms, these sisRNA produced from their host genes are generally involved in regulatory roles, controlling gene expression at multiple levels through active involvement in regulatory feedback loops. Large scale identification of sisRNA via genome-wide RNA sequencing has been difficult, largely in part due to its low abundance. Done on its own, RNA sequencing often yields a large mass of information that is ironically uninformative; the potential sisRNA reads being masked by other highly abundant RNA species like ribosomal RNA and messenger RNA. In this review, we present a practical workflow for the enrichment of circular sisRNA through the use of transcriptionally quiescent systems, rRNA-depletion, and RNase R treatment prior to deep sequencing. This workflow allows circular sisRNA to be reliably detected. We also present various methods to experimentally validate the circularity and stability of the circular sisRNA identified, as well as a few methods for further functional characterisation.

SON protects nascent transcripts from unproductive degradation by counteracting DIP1

Gene expression involves the transcription and splicing of nascent transcripts through the removal of introns. In Drosophila, a double-stranded RNA binding protein Disco-interacting protein 1 (DIP1) targets INE-1 stable intronic sequence RNAs (sisRNAs) for degradation after splicing. How nascent transcripts that also contain INE-1 sequences escape degradation remains unknown. Here we observe that these nascent transcripts can also be bound by DIP1 but the Drosophila homolog of SON (Dsn) protects them from unproductive degradation in ovaries. Dsn localizes to the satellite body where active decay of INE-1 sisRNAs by DIP1 occurs. Dsn is a repressor of DIP1 posttranslational modifications (primarily sumoylation) that are assumed to be required for efficient DIP1 activity. Moreover, the pre-mRNA destabilization caused by Dsn depletion is rescued in DIP1 or Sumo heterozygous mutants, suggesting that Dsn is a negative regulator of DIP1. Our results reveal that under normal circumstances nascent transcripts are susceptible to DIP1-mediated degradation, however intronic sequences are protected by Dsn until intron excision has taken place.

Stable Intronic Sequence RNAs (sisRNAs): An Expanding Universe

Intronic sequences are often regarded as 'nonsense' transcripts that are rapidly degraded. We highlight here recent studies on intronic sequences that play regulatory roles as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) which are classified as sisRNAs. Interestingly, sisRNAs come in different forms and are produced via a variety of ways. They regulate genes at the DNA, RNA, and protein levels, and frequently engage in autoregulatory feedback loops to ensure cellular homeostasis under normal and stress conditions. Future directions, evolutionary insights, and potential implications of dysregulated sisRNAs are also discussed, especially in relation to human pathogenesis.