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Davis JA, Chakrabarti K. Molecular and Evolutionary Analysis of RNA-Protein Interactions in Telomerase Regulation. Noncoding RNA 2024; 10:36. [PMID: 38921833 PMCID: PMC11206666 DOI: 10.3390/ncrna10030036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Telomerase is an enzyme involved in the maintenance of telomeres. Telomere shortening due to the end-replication problem is a threat to the genome integrity of all eukaryotes. Telomerase inside cells depends on a myriad of protein-protein and RNA-protein interactions to properly assemble and regulate the function of the telomerase holoenzyme. These interactions are well studied in model eukaryotes, like humans, yeast, and the ciliated protozoan known as Tetrahymena thermophila. Emerging evidence also suggests that deep-branching eukaryotes, such as the parasitic protist Trypanosoma brucei require conserved and novel RNA-binding proteins for the assembly and function of their telomerase. In this review, we will discuss telomerase regulatory pathways in the context of telomerase-interacting proteins, with special attention paid to RNA-binding proteins. We will discuss these interactors on an evolutionary scale, from parasitic protists to humans, to provide a broader perspective on the extensive role that protein-protein and RNA-protein interactions play in regulating telomerase activity in eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kausik Chakrabarti
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA;
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2
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Agabekian IA, Abdulkina LR, Lushnenko AY, Young PG, Valeeva LR, Boskovic O, Lilly EG, Sharipova MR, Shippen DE, Juenger TE, Shakirov EV. Arabidopsis AN3 and OLIGOCELLULA genes link telomere maintenance mechanisms with cell division and expansion control. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 114:65. [PMID: 38816532 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-024-01457-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Telomeres are conserved chromosomal structures necessary for continued cell division and proliferation. In addition to the classical telomerase pathway, multiple other genes including those involved in ribosome metabolism and chromatin modification contribute to telomere length maintenance. We previously reported that Arabidopsis thaliana ribosome biogenesis genes OLI2/NOP2A, OLI5/RPL5A and OLI7/RPL5B have critical roles in telomere length regulation. These three OLIGOCELLULA genes were also shown to function in cell proliferation and expansion control and to genetically interact with the transcriptional co-activator ANGUSTIFOLIA3 (AN3). Here we show that AN3-deficient plants progressively lose telomeric DNA in early homozygous mutant generations, but ultimately establish a new shorter telomere length setpoint by the fifth mutant generation with a telomere length similar to oli2/nop2a -deficient plants. Analysis of double an3 oli2 mutants indicates that the two genes are epistatic for telomere length control. Telomere shortening in an3 and oli mutants is not caused by telomerase inhibition; wild type levels of telomerase activity are detected in all analyzed mutants in vitro. Late generations of an3 and oli mutants are prone to stem cell damage in the root apical meristem, implying that genes regulating telomere length may have conserved functional roles in stem cell maintenance mechanisms. Multiple instances of anaphase fusions in late generations of oli5 and oli7 mutants were observed, highlighting an unexpected effect of ribosome biogenesis factors on chromosome integrity. Overall, our data implicate AN3 transcription coactivator and OLIGOCELLULA proteins in the establishment of telomere length set point in plants and further suggest that multiple regulators with pleiotropic functions can connect telomere biology with cell proliferation and cell expansion pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inna A Agabekian
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, 420008, Russia
| | - Liliia R Abdulkina
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, 420008, Russia
| | - Alina Y Lushnenko
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, 420008, Russia
| | - Pierce G Young
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, Texas, 77843-2128, USA
| | - Lia R Valeeva
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, 25701, USA
| | - Olivia Boskovic
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, 25701, USA
| | - Ethan G Lilly
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, 25701, USA
| | - Margarita R Sharipova
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, 420008, Russia
| | - Dorothy E Shippen
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, Texas, 77843-2128, USA.
| | - Thomas E Juenger
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78712, USA.
| | - Eugene V Shakirov
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, 25701, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, 25755, USA.
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3
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Štefanovie B, Jenner LP, Bozděchová L, Fajkus P, Sýkorová E, Fajkus J, Paleček JJ. Characterisation of the Arabidopsis thaliana telomerase TERT-TR complex. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 114:56. [PMID: 38743198 PMCID: PMC11093817 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-024-01461-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Most eukaryotic organisms employ a telomerase complex for the maintenance of chromosome ends. The core of this complex is composed of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and telomerase RNA (TR) subunits. The TERT reverse transcriptase (RT) domain synthesises telomeric DNA using the TR template sequence. The other TERT domains contribute to this process in different ways. In particular, the TERT RNA-binding domain (TRBD) interacts with specific TR motif(s). Using a yeast 3-hybrid system, we show the critical role of Arabidopsis thaliana (At) TRBD and embryophyta-conserved KRxR motif in the unstructured linker preceding the TRBD domain for binding to the recently identified AtTR subunit. We also show the essential role of the predicted P4 stem and pseudoknot AtTR structures and provide evidence for the binding of AtTRBD to pseudoknot and KRxR motif stabilising interaction with the P4 stem structure. Our results thus provide the first insight into the core part of the plant telomerase complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbora Štefanovie
- Faculty of Science, National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Leon P Jenner
- Institute of Biophysics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 61200, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Lucie Bozděchová
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Fajkus
- Faculty of Science, National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Biophysics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 61200, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Sýkorová
- Institute of Biophysics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 61200, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Fajkus
- Faculty of Science, National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic.
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic.
- Institute of Biophysics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 61200, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Jan J Paleček
- Faculty of Science, National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic.
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic.
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4
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Bozděchová L, Rudolfová A, Hanáková K, Fojtová M, Fajkus J. Optimizing ChIRP-MS for Comprehensive Profiling of RNA-Protein Interactions in Arabidopsis thaliana: A Telomerase RNA Case Study. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:850. [PMID: 38592918 PMCID: PMC10975786 DOI: 10.3390/plants13060850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
The current repertoire of methods available for studying RNA-protein interactions in plants is somewhat limited. Employing an RNA-centric approach, particularly with less abundant RNAs, presents various challenges. Many of the existing methods were initially designed for different model systems, with their application in plants receiving limited attention thus far. The Comprehensive Identification of RNA-Binding Proteins by Mass Spectrometry (ChIRP-MS) technique, initially developed for mammalian cells, has been adapted in this study for application in Arabidopsis thaliana. The procedures have been meticulously modified and optimized for telomerase RNA, a notable example of a low-abundance RNA recently identified. Following these optimization steps, ChIRP-MS can serve as an effective screening method for identifying candidate proteins interacting with any target RNA of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Bozděchová
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; (L.B.); (K.H.); (M.F.)
| | - Anna Rudolfová
- National Center for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic;
- Institute of Biophysics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 61200 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Hanáková
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; (L.B.); (K.H.); (M.F.)
| | - Miloslava Fojtová
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; (L.B.); (K.H.); (M.F.)
- National Center for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic;
| | - Jiří Fajkus
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; (L.B.); (K.H.); (M.F.)
- National Center for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic;
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5
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Barcenilla BB, Kundel I, Hall E, Hilty N, Ulianich P, Cook J, Turley J, Yerram M, Min JH, Castillo-González C, Shippen DE. Telomere dynamics and oxidative stress in Arabidopsis grown in lunar regolith simulant. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1351613. [PMID: 38434436 PMCID: PMC10908177 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1351613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
NASA envisions a future where humans establish a thriving colony on the Moon by 2050. Plants will be essential for this endeavor, but little is known about their adaptation to extraterrestrial bodies. The capacity to grow plants in lunar regolith would represent a major step towards this goal by minimizing the reliance on resources transported from Earth. Recent studies reveal that Arabidopsis thaliana can germinate and grow on genuine lunar regolith as well as on lunar regolith simulant. However, plants arrest in vegetative development and activate a variety of stress response pathways, most notably the oxidative stress response. Telomeres are hotspots for oxidative damage in the genome and a marker of fitness in many organisms. Here we examine A. thaliana growth on a lunar regolith simulant and the impact of this resource on plant physiology and on telomere dynamics, telomerase enzyme activity and genome oxidation. We report that plants successfully set seed and generate a viable second plant generation if the lunar regolith simulant is pre-washed with an antioxidant cocktail. However, plants sustain a higher degree of genome oxidation and decreased biomass relative to conventional Earth soil cultivation. Moreover, telomerase activity substantially declines and telomeres shorten in plants grown in lunar regolith simulant, implying that genome integrity may not be sustainable over the long-term. Overcoming these challenges will be an important goal in ensuring success on the lunar frontier.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Dorothy E. Shippen
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
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6
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Bozděchová L, Havlová K, Fajkus P, Fajkus J. Analysis of Telomerase RNA Structure in Physcomitrium patens Indicates Functionally Relevant Transitions Between OPEN and CLOSED Conformations. J Mol Biol 2024; 436:168417. [PMID: 38143018 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2023.168417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
Telomerase RNA (TR) conformation determines its function as a template for telomere synthesis and as a scaffold for the assembly of the telomerase nucleoprotein complex. Experimental analyses of TR secondary structure using DMS-Map Seq and SHAPE-Map Seq techniques show its CLOSED conformation as the consensus structure where the template region cannot perform its function. Our data show that the apparent discrepancy between experimental results and predicted TR functional conformation, mostly ignored in published studies, can be explained using data analysis based on single-molecule structure prediction from individual sequencing reads by the recently established DaVinci method. This method results in several clusters of secondary structures reflecting the structural dynamics of TR, possibly related to its multiple functional states. Interestingly, the presumed active (OPEN) conformation of TR corresponds to a minor fraction of TR under in vivo conditions. Therefore, structural polymorphism and dynamic TR transitions between CLOSED and OPEN conformations may be involved in telomerase activity regulation as a switch that functions independently of total TR transcript levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Bozděchová
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Havlová
- National Center for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Fajkus
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; Institute of Biophysics, Czech Acad Sci, Královopolská 135, 61200 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Fajkus
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; National Center for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; Institute of Biophysics, Czech Acad Sci, Královopolská 135, 61200 Brno, Czech Republic.
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7
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Valeeva LR, Sannikova AV, Shafigullina NR, Abdulkina LR, Sharipova MR, Shakirov EV. Telomere Length Variation in Model Bryophytes. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:387. [PMID: 38337920 PMCID: PMC10856949 DOI: 10.3390/plants13030387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
The ends of linear chromosomes of most eukaryotes consist of protein-bound DNA arrays called telomeres, which play essential roles in protecting genome integrity. Despite general evolutionary conservation in function, telomeric DNA is known to drastically vary in length and sequence between different eukaryotic lineages. Bryophytes are a group of early diverging land plants that include mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. This group of ancient land plants recently emerged as a new model for important discoveries in genomics and evolutionary biology, as well as for understanding plant adaptations to a terrestrial lifestyle. We measured telomere length in different ecotypes of model bryophyte species, including Physcomitrium patens, Marchantia polymorpha, Ceratodon purpureus, and in Sphagnum isolates. Our data indicate that all analyzed moss and liverwort genotypes have relatively short telomeres. Furthermore, all analyzed ecotypes and isolates of model mosses and liverworts display evidence of substantial natural variation in telomere length. Interestingly, telomere length also differs between male and female strains of the dioecious liverwort M. polymorpha and dioecious moss C. purpureus. Given that bryophytes are extraordinarily well adapted to different ecological niches from polar to tropical environments, our data will contribute to understanding the impact of natural telomere length variation on evolutionary adaptations in this ancient land plant lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liia R. Valeeva
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan 420008, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia; (A.V.S.); (L.R.A.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25701, USA
| | - Anastasia V. Sannikova
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan 420008, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia; (A.V.S.); (L.R.A.)
| | - Nadiya R. Shafigullina
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Department of General Ecology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan 420008, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia
| | - Liliia R. Abdulkina
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan 420008, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia; (A.V.S.); (L.R.A.)
| | - Margarita R. Sharipova
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan 420008, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia; (A.V.S.); (L.R.A.)
| | - Eugene V. Shakirov
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25701, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755, USA
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8
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Kumawat S, Martinez I, Logeswaran D, Chen H, Coughlan JM, Chen JJL, Yuan Y, Sobel JM, Choi JY. Transposition, duplication, and divergence of the telomerase RNA underlies the evolution of Mimulus telomeres. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.06.568249. [PMID: 38106000 PMCID: PMC10723376 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.06.568249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres are nucleoprotein complexes with a crucial role of protecting chromosome ends. It consists of simple repeat sequences and dedicated telomere-binding proteins. Because of its vital functions, components of the telomere, for example its sequence, should be under strong evolutionary constraint. But across all plants, telomere sequences display a range of variation and the evolutionary mechanism driving this diversification is largely unknown. Here, we discovered in Monkeyflower (Mimulus) the telomere sequence is even variable between species. We investigated the basis of Mimulus telomere sequence evolution by studying the long noncoding telomerase RNA (TR), which is a core component of the telomere maintenance complex and determines the telomere sequence. We conducted total RNA-based de novo transcriptomics from 16 Mimulus species and analyzed reference genomes from 6 species, and discovered Mimulus species have evolved at least three different telomere sequences: (AAACCCT)n, (AAACCCG)n, and (AAACCG)n. Unexpectedly, we discovered several species with TR duplications and the paralogs had functional consequences that could influence telomere evolution. For instance, M. lewisii had two sequence-divergent TR paralogs and synthesized a telomere with sequence heterogeneity, consisting of AAACCG and AAACCCG repeats. Evolutionary analysis of the M. lewisii TR paralogs indicated it had arisen from a transposition-mediate duplication process. Further analysis of the TR from multiple Mimulus species showed the gene had frequently transposed and inserted into new chromosomal positions during Mimulus evolution. From our results, we propose the TR transposition, duplication, and divergence model to explain the evolutionary sequence turnovers in Mimulus and potentially all plant telomeres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surbhi Kumawat
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - Irene Martinez
- Department of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, New York, USA
| | | | - Hongfei Chen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT
| | - Jenn M. Coughlan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT
| | | | - Yaowu Yuan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
| | - James M. Sobel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, New York, USA
| | - Jae Young Choi
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
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9
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Agabekian IA, Abdulkina LR, Lushnenko AY, Young PG, Valeeva LR, Boskovic O, Lilly EG, Sharipova MR, Shippen DE, Juenger TE, Shakirov EV. Arabidopsis AN3 and OLIGOCELLULA genes link telomere maintenance mechanisms with cell division and expansion control. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3438810. [PMID: 37961382 PMCID: PMC10635316 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3438810/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres are conserved chromosomal structures necessary for continued cell division and proliferation. In addition to the classical telomerase pathway, multiple other genes including those involved in ribosome metabolism and chromatin modification contribute to telomere length maintenance. We previously reported that Arabidopsis thaliana ribosome biogenesis genes OLI2/NOP2A, OLI5/RPL5A and OLI7/RPL5B have critical roles in telomere length regulation. These three OLIGOCELLULA genes were also shown to function in cell proliferation and expansion control and to genetically interact with the transcriptional co-activator ANGUSTIFOLIA3 (AN3). Here we show that AN3-deficient plants progressively lose telomeric DNA in early homozygous mutant generations, but ultimately establish a new shorter telomere length setpoint by the fifth mutant generation with a telomere length similar to oli2/nop2a - deficient plants. Analysis of double an3 oli2 mutants indicates that the two genes are epistatic for telomere length control. Telomere shortening in an3 and oli mutants is not caused by telomerase inhibition; wild type levels of telomerase activity are detected in all analyzed mutants in vitro. Late generations of an3 and oli mutants are prone to stem cell damage in the root apical meristem, implying that genes regulating telomere length may have conserved functional roles in stem cell maintenance mechanisms. Multiple instances of anaphase fusions in late generations of oli5 and oli7 mutants were observed, highlighting an unexpected effect of ribosome biogenesis factors on chromosome integrity. Overall, our data implicate AN3 transcription coactivator and OLIGOCELLULA proteins in the establishment of telomere length set point in plants and further suggest that multiple regulators with pleiotropic functions can connect telomere biology with cell proliferation and cell expansion pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inna A Agabekian
- Kazan Federal University: Kazanskij Privolzskij federal'nyj universitet
| | | | - Alina Y Lushnenko
- Kazan Federal University: Kazanskij Privolzskij federal'nyj universitet
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10
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Palos K, Yu L, Railey CE, Nelson Dittrich AC, Nelson ADL. Linking discoveries, mechanisms, and technologies to develop a clearer perspective on plant long noncoding RNAs. THE PLANT CELL 2023; 35:1762-1786. [PMID: 36738093 PMCID: PMC10226578 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a large and diverse class of genes in eukaryotic genomes that contribute to a variety of regulatory processes. Functionally characterized lncRNAs play critical roles in plants, ranging from regulating flowering to controlling lateral root formation. However, findings from the past decade have revealed that thousands of lncRNAs are present in plant transcriptomes, and characterization has lagged far behind identification. In this setting, distinguishing function from noise is challenging. However, the plant community has been at the forefront of discovery in lncRNA biology, providing many functional and mechanistic insights that have increased our understanding of this gene class. In this review, we examine the key discoveries and insights made in plant lncRNA biology over the past two and a half decades. We describe how discoveries made in the pregenomics era have informed efforts to identify and functionally characterize lncRNAs in the subsequent decades. We provide an overview of the functional archetypes into which characterized plant lncRNAs fit and speculate on new avenues of research that may uncover yet more archetypes. Finally, this review discusses the challenges facing the field and some exciting new molecular and computational approaches that may help inform lncRNA comparative and functional analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Palos
- Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Li’ang Yu
- Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Caylyn E Railey
- Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Plant Biology Graduate Field, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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11
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Assmann SM, Chou HL, Bevilacqua PC. Rock, scissors, paper: How RNA structure informs function. THE PLANT CELL 2023; 35:1671-1707. [PMID: 36747354 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
RNA can fold back on itself to adopt a wide range of structures. These range from relatively simple hairpins to intricate 3D folds and can be accompanied by regulatory interactions with both metabolites and macromolecules. The last 50 yr have witnessed elucidation of an astonishing array of RNA structures including transfer RNAs, ribozymes, riboswitches, the ribosome, the spliceosome, and most recently entire RNA structuromes. These advances in RNA structural biology have deepened insight into fundamental biological processes including gene editing, transcription, translation, and structure-based detection and response to temperature and other environmental signals. These discoveries reveal that RNA can be relatively static, like a rock; that it can have catalytic functions of cutting bonds, like scissors; and that it can adopt myriad functional shapes, like paper. We relate these extraordinary discoveries in the biology of RNA structure to the plant way of life. We trace plant-specific discovery of ribozymes and riboswitches, alternative splicing, organellar ribosomes, thermometers, whole-transcriptome structuromes and pan-structuromes, and conclude that plants have a special set of RNA structures that confer unique types of gene regulation. We finish with a consideration of future directions for the RNA structure-function field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M Assmann
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Hong-Li Chou
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Philip C Bevilacqua
- Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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12
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Fajkus P, Adámik M, Nelson ADL, Kilar AM, Franek M, Bubeník M, Frydrychová RČ, Votavová A, Sýkorová E, Fajkus J, Peška V. Telomerase RNA in Hymenoptera (Insecta) switched to plant/ciliate-like biogenesis. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 51:420-433. [PMID: 36546771 PMCID: PMC9841428 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In contrast to the catalytic subunit of telomerase, its RNA subunit (TR) is highly divergent in size, sequence and biogenesis pathways across eukaryotes. Current views on TR evolution assume a common origin of TRs transcribed with RNA polymerase II in Opisthokonta (the supergroup including Animalia and Fungi) and Trypanosomida on one hand, and TRs transcribed with RNA polymerase III under the control of type 3 promoter, found in TSAR and Archaeplastida supergroups (including e.g. ciliates and Viridiplantae taxa, respectively). Here, we focus on unknown TRs in one of the largest Animalia order - Hymenoptera (Arthropoda) with more than 300 available representative genomes. Using a combination of bioinformatic and experimental approaches, we identify their TRs. In contrast to the presumed type of TRs (H/ACA box snoRNAs transcribed with RNA Polymerase II) corresponding to their phylogenetic position, we find here short TRs of the snRNA type, likely transcribed with RNA polymerase III under the control of the type 3 promoter. The newly described insect TRs thus question the hitherto assumed monophyletic origin of TRs across Animalia and point to an evolutionary switch in TR type and biogenesis that was associated with the divergence of Arthropods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petr Fajkus
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +420 41517183;
| | - Matej Adámik
- Department of Cell Biology and Radiobiology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno CZ-61265, Czech Republic
| | - Andrew D L Nelson
- The Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, 533 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Agata M Kilar
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic,Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, NCBR, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno CZ-61137, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Franek
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Bubeník
- Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, NCBR, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno CZ-61137, Czech Republic
| | - Radmila Čapková Frydrychová
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic
| | - Alena Votavová
- Agricultural Research, Ltd., Troubsko, CZ-664 41, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Sýkorová
- Department of Cell Biology and Radiobiology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno CZ-61265, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Fajkus
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Jiří Fajkus. Tel: +420 549494003;
| | - Vratislav Peška
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Vratislav Peška. Tel: +420 541517183;
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13
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Udroiu I, Marinaccio J, Sgura A. Many Functions of Telomerase Components: Certainties, Doubts, and Inconsistencies. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232315189. [PMID: 36499514 PMCID: PMC9736166 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232315189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing number of studies have evidenced non-telomeric functions of "telomerase". Almost all of them, however, investigated the non-canonical effects of the catalytic subunit TERT, and not the telomerase ribonucleoprotein holoenzyme. These functions mainly comprise signal transduction, gene regulation and the increase of anti-oxidative systems. Although less studied, TERC (the RNA component of telomerase) has also been shown to be involved in gene regulation, as well as other functions. All this has led to the publication of many reviews on the subject, which, however, are often disseminating personal interpretations of experimental studies of other researchers as original proofs. Indeed, while some functions such as gene regulation seem ascertained, especially because mechanistic findings have been provided, other ones remain dubious and/or are contradicted by other direct or indirect evidence (e.g., telomerase activity at double-strand break site, RNA polymerase activity of TERT, translation of TERC, mitochondrion-processed TERC). In a critical study of the primary evidence so far obtained, we show those functions for which there is consensus, those showing contradictory results and those needing confirmation. The resulting picture, together with some usually neglected aspects, seems to indicate a link between TERT and TERC functions and cellular stemness and gives possible directions for future research.
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14
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Monaghan P, Olsson M, Richardson DS, Verhulst S, Rogers SM. Integrating telomere biology into the ecology and evolution of natural populations: Progress and prospects. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:5909-5916. [PMID: 36330668 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pat Monaghan
- Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Institute of Biodiversity, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Mats Olsson
- Department of BioEnv - Zoologen, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, Norfolk, UK
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Sean M Rogers
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, Bamfield, British Columbia, Canada
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15
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Vozárová R, Wang W, Lunerová J, Shao F, Pellicer J, Leitch IJ, Leitch AR, Kovařík A. Mega-sized pericentromeric blocks of simple telomeric repeats and their variants reveal patterns of chromosome evolution in ancient Cycadales genomes. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 112:646-663. [PMID: 36065632 PMCID: PMC9827991 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Simple telomeric repeats composed of six to seven iterating nucleotide units are important sequences typically found at the ends of chromosomes. Here we analyzed their abundance and homogeneity in 42 gymnosperm (29 newly sequenced), 29 angiosperm (one newly sequenced), and eight bryophytes using bioinformatics, conventional cytogenetic and molecular biology approaches to explore their diversity across land plants. We found more than 10 000-fold variation in the amounts of telomeric repeats among the investigated taxa. Repeat abundance was positively correlated with increasing intragenomic sequence heterogeneity and occurrence at non-telomeric positions, but there was no correlation with genome size. The highest abundance/heterogeneity was found in the gymnosperm genus Cycas (Cycadaceae), in which megabase-sized blocks of telomeric repeats (i.e., billions of copies) were identified. Fluorescent in situ hybridization experiments using variant-specific probes revealed canonical Arabidopsis-type telomeric TTTAGGG repeats at chromosome ends, while pericentromeric blocks comprised at least four major telomeric variants with decreasing abundance: TTTAGGG>TTCAGGG >TTTAAGG>TTCAAGG. Such a diversity of repeats was not found in the sister cycad family Zamiaceae or in any other species analyzed. Using immunocytochemistry, we showed that the pericentromeric blocks of telomeric repeats overlapped with histone H3 serine 10 phosphorylation signals. We show that species of Cycas have amplified their telomeric repeats in centromeric and telomeric positions on telocentric chromosomes to extraordinary high levels. The ancestral chromosome number reconstruction suggests their occurrence is unlikely to be the product of ancient Robertsonian chromosome fusions. We speculate as to how the observed chromosome dynamics may be associated with the diversification of cycads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radka Vozárová
- Department of Molecular EpigeneticsInstitute of Biophysics, Czech Academy of Sciencesv.v.i., Královopolská 135612 65BrnoCzech Republic
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of ScienceMasaryk University611 37BrnoCzech Republic
| | - Wencai Wang
- Science and Technology Innovation CentreGuangzhou University of Chinese MedicineGuangzhou510405China
| | - Jana Lunerová
- Department of Molecular EpigeneticsInstitute of Biophysics, Czech Academy of Sciencesv.v.i., Královopolská 135612 65BrnoCzech Republic
| | - Fengqing Shao
- Science and Technology Innovation CentreGuangzhou University of Chinese MedicineGuangzhou510405China
| | - Jaume Pellicer
- Royal Botanic GardensKew, RichmondSurreyTW9 3ABUK
- Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB, CSIC‐Ajuntament de Barcelona)Passeig del Migdia sn08038BarcelonaSpain
| | | | - Andrew R. Leitch
- School of Biological and Chemical SciencesQueen Mary University of LondonLondonE1 4NSUK
| | - Aleš Kovařík
- Department of Molecular EpigeneticsInstitute of Biophysics, Czech Academy of Sciencesv.v.i., Královopolská 135612 65BrnoCzech Republic
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16
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Logeswaran D, Li Y, Akhter K, Podlevsky JD, Olson TL, Forsberg K, Chen JJL. Biogenesis of telomerase RNA from a protein-coding mRNA precursor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2204636119. [PMID: 36197996 PMCID: PMC9564094 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2204636119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase is a eukaryotic ribonucleoprotein (RNP) enzyme that adds DNA repeats onto chromosome ends to maintain genomic stability and confer cellular immortality in cancer and stem cells. The telomerase RNA (TER) component is essential for telomerase catalytic activity and provides the template for telomeric DNA synthesis. The biogenesis of TERs is extremely divergent across eukaryotic kingdoms, employing distinct types of transcription machinery and processing pathways. In ciliates and plants, TERs are transcribed by RNA polymerase III (Pol III), while animal and ascomycete fungal TERs are transcribed by RNA Pol II and share biogenesis pathways with small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) and small nuclear RNA (snRNA), respectively. Here, we report an unprecedented messenger RNA (mRNA)-derived biogenesis pathway for the 1,291 nucleotide TER from the basidiomycete fungus Ustilago maydis. The U. maydis TER (UmTER) contains a 5'-monophosphate, distinct from the 5' 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine (TMG) cap common to animal and ascomycete fungal TERs. The mature UmTER is processed from the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of a larger RNA precursor that possesses characteristics of mRNA including a 5' 7-methyl-guanosine (m7G) cap, alternative splicing of introns, and a poly(A) tail. Moreover, this mRNA transcript encodes a protein called Early meiotic induction protein 1 (Emi1) that is conserved across dikaryotic fungi. A recombinant UmTER precursor expressed from an mRNA promoter is processed correctly to yield mature UmTER, confirming an mRNA-processing pathway for producing TER. Our findings expand the plethora of TER biogenesis mechanisms and demonstrate a pathway for producing a functional long noncoding RNA from a protein-coding mRNA precursor.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yang Li
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281
| | - Khadiza Akhter
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281
| | | | - Tamara L. Olson
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281
| | | | - Julian J.-L. Chen
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281
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17
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Palos K, Nelson Dittrich AC, Yu L, Brock JR, Railey CE, Wu HYL, Sokolowska E, Skirycz A, Hsu PY, Gregory BD, Lyons E, Beilstein MA, Nelson ADL. Identification and functional annotation of long intergenic non-coding RNAs in Brassicaceae. THE PLANT CELL 2022; 34:3233-3260. [PMID: 35666179 PMCID: PMC9421480 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) are a large yet enigmatic class of eukaryotic transcripts that can have critical biological functions. The wealth of RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data available for plants provides the opportunity to implement a harmonized identification and annotation effort for lincRNAs that enables cross-species functional and genomic comparisons as well as prioritization of functional candidates. In this study, we processed >24 Tera base pairs of RNA-seq data from >16,000 experiments to identify ∼130,000 lincRNAs in four Brassicaceae: Arabidopsis thaliana, Camelina sativa, Brassica rapa, and Eutrema salsugineum. We used nanopore RNA-seq, transcriptome-wide structural information, peptide data, and epigenomic data to characterize these lincRNAs and identify conserved motifs. We then used comparative genomic and transcriptomic approaches to highlight lincRNAs in our data set with sequence or transcriptional conservation. Finally, we used guilt-by-association analyses to assign putative functions to lincRNAs within our data set. We tested this approach on a subset of lincRNAs associated with germination and seed development, observing germination defects for Arabidopsis lines harboring T-DNA insertions at these loci. LincRNAs with Brassicaceae-conserved putative miRNA binding motifs, small open reading frames, or abiotic-stress modulated expression are a few of the annotations that will guide functional analyses into this cryptic portion of the transcriptome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Palos
- The Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | | | - Li’ang Yu
- The Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Jordan R Brock
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Caylyn E Railey
- The Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Hsin-Yen Larry Wu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | | | | | - Polly Yingshan Hsu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Brian D Gregory
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Eric Lyons
- The School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Mark A Beilstein
- The School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
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18
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Shakirov EV, Chen JJL, Shippen DE. Plant telomere biology: The green solution to the end-replication problem. THE PLANT CELL 2022; 34:2492-2504. [PMID: 35511166 PMCID: PMC9252485 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Telomere maintenance is a fundamental cellular process conserved across all eukaryotic lineages. Although plants and animals diverged over 1.5 billion years ago, lessons learned from plants continue to push the boundaries of science, revealing detailed molecular mechanisms in telomere biology with broad implications for human health, aging biology, and stress responses. Recent studies of plant telomeres have unveiled unexpected divergence in telomere sequence and architecture, and the proteins that engage telomeric DNA and telomerase. The discovery of telomerase RNA components in the plant kingdom and some algae groups revealed new insight into the divergent evolution and the universal core of telomerase across major eukaryotic kingdoms. In addition, resources cataloging the abundant natural variation in Arabidopsis thaliana, maize (Zea mays), and other plants are providing unparalleled opportunities to understand the genetic networks that govern telomere length polymorphism and, as a result, are uncovering unanticipated crosstalk between telomeres, environmental factors, organismal fitness, and plant physiology. Here we recap current advances in plant telomere biology and put this field in perspective relative to telomere and telomerase research in other eukaryotic lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Shakirov
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia 25701, USA
| | - Julian J -L Chen
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA
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19
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Davis JA, Chakrabarti K. Telomerase ribonucleoprotein and genome integrity-An emerging connection in protozoan parasites. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. RNA 2021; 13:e1710. [PMID: 34973045 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Telomerase has an established role in telomere maintenance in eukaryotes. However, recent studies have begun to implicate telomerase in cellular roles beyond telomere maintenance. Specifically, evidence is emerging of cross-talks between telomerase mediated telomere homeostasis and DNA repair pathways. Telomere shortening due to the end replication problem is a constant threat to genome integrity in eukaryotic cells. This poses a particular problem in unicellular parasitic protists because their major virulence genes are located at the subtelomeric loci. Although telomerase is the major regulator of telomere lengthening in eukaryotes, it is less studied in the ancient eukaryotes, including clinically important human pathogens. Recent research is highlighting interplay between telomerase and the DNA damage response in human parasites. The importance of this interplay in pathogen virulence is only beginning to be illuminated, including the potential to highlight novel developmental regulation of telomerase in parasites who transition between multiple developmental stages throughout their life cycle. In this review, we will discuss the telomerase ribonucleoprotein enzyme and DNA repair pathways with emerging views in human parasites to give a broader perspective of the possible connection of telomere, telomerase, and DNA repair pathways across eukaryotic lineages and highlight their potential role in pathogen virulence. This article is categorized under: RNA Structure and Dynamics > Influence of RNA Structure in Biological Systems RNA Evolution and Genomics > RNA and Ribonucleoprotein Evolution RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > Protein-RNA Interactions: Functional Implications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kausik Chakrabarti
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
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20
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Garus A, Autexier C. Dyskerin: an essential pseudouridine synthase with multifaceted roles in ribosome biogenesis, splicing, and telomere maintenance. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2021; 27:1441-1458. [PMID: 34556550 PMCID: PMC8594475 DOI: 10.1261/rna.078953.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Dyskerin and its homologs are ancient and conserved enzymes that catalyze the most common post-transcriptional modification found in cells, pseudouridylation. The resulting pseudouridines provide stability to RNA molecules and regulate ribosome biogenesis and splicing events. Dyskerin does not act independently-it is the core component of a protein heterotetramer, which associates with RNAs that contain the H/ACA motif. The variety of H/ACA RNAs that guide the function of this ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex highlights the diversity of cellular processes in which dyskerin participates. When associated with small nucleolar (sno) RNAs, it regulates ribosomal (r) RNAs and ribosome biogenesis. By interacting with small Cajal body (sca) RNAs, it targets small nuclear (sn) RNAs to regulate pre-mRNA splicing. As a component of the telomerase holoenzyme, dyskerin binds to the telomerase RNA to modulate telomere maintenance. In a disease context, dyskerin malfunction can result in multiple detrimental phenotypes. Mutations in DKC1, the gene that encodes dyskerin, cause the premature aging syndrome X-linked dyskeratosis congenita (X-DC), a still incurable disorder that typically leads to bone marrow failure. In this review, we present the classical and most recent findings on this essential protein, discussing the evolutionary, structural, and functional aspects of dyskerin and the H/ACA RNP. The latest research underscores the role that dyskerin plays in the regulation of gene expression, translation efficiency, and telomere maintenance, along with the impacts that defective dyskerin has on aging, cell proliferation, haematopoietic potential, and cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Garus
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0C7, Canada
- Jewish General Hospital, Lady Davis Institute, Montreal, Quebec, H3T 1E2, Canada
| | - Chantal Autexier
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0C7, Canada
- Jewish General Hospital, Lady Davis Institute, Montreal, Quebec, H3T 1E2, Canada
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21
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Song J, Castillo-González C, Ma Z, Shippen DE. Arabidopsis retains vertebrate-type telomerase accessory proteins via a plant-specific assembly. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:9496-9507. [PMID: 34403479 PMCID: PMC8450087 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The recent discovery of the bona-fide telomerase RNA (TR) from plants reveals conserved and unique secondary structure elements and the opportunity for new insight into the telomerase RNP. Here we examine how two highly conserved proteins previously implicated in Arabidopsis telomere maintenance, AtPOT1a and AtNAP57 (dyskerin), engage plant telomerase. We report that AtPOT1a associates with Arabidopsis telomerase via interaction with TERT. While loss of AtPOT1a does not impact AtTR stability, the templating domain is more accessible in pot1a mutants, supporting the conclusion that AtPOT1a stimulates telomerase activity but does not facilitate telomerase RNP assembly. We also show, that despite the absence of a canonical H/ACA binding motif within AtTR, dyskerin binds AtTR with high affinity and specificity in vitro via a plant specific three-way junction (TWJ). A core element of the TWJ is the P1a stem, which unites the 5′ and 3′ ends of AtTR. P1a is required for dyskerin-mediated stimulation of telomerase repeat addition processivity in vitro, and for AtTR accumulation and telomerase activity in vivo. The deployment of vertebrate-like accessory proteins and unique RNA structural elements by Arabidopsis telomerase provides a new platform for exploring telomerase biogenesis and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiarui Song
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2128, USA
| | - Claudia Castillo-González
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2128, USA
| | - Zeyang Ma
- National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, 100193 Beijing, China
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, 100193 Beijing, China
| | - Dorothy E Shippen
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 979 862 2342; Fax: +1 979 862 7638;
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22
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Fajkus P, Kilar A, Nelson ADL, Holá M, Peška V, Goffová I, Fojtová M, Zachová D, Fulnečková J, Fajkus J. Evolution of plant telomerase RNAs: farther to the past, deeper to the roots. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:7680-7694. [PMID: 34181710 PMCID: PMC8287931 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The enormous sequence heterogeneity of telomerase RNA (TR) subunits has thus far complicated their characterization in a wider phylogenetic range. Our recent finding that land plant TRs are, similarly to known ciliate TRs, transcribed by RNA polymerase III and under the control of the type-3 promoter, allowed us to design a novel strategy to characterize TRs in early diverging Viridiplantae taxa, as well as in ciliates and other Diaphoretickes lineages. Starting with the characterization of the upstream sequence element of the type 3 promoter that is conserved in a number of small nuclear RNAs, and the expected minimum TR template region as search features, we identified candidate TRs in selected Diaphoretickes genomes. Homologous TRs were then used to build covariance models to identify TRs in more distant species. Transcripts of the identified TRs were confirmed by transcriptomic data, RT-PCR and Northern hybridization. A templating role for one of our candidates was validated in Physcomitrium patens. Analysis of secondary structure demonstrated a deep conservation of motifs (pseudoknot and template boundary element) observed in all published TRs. These results elucidate the evolution of the earliest eukaryotic TRs, linking the common origin of TRs across Diaphoretickes, and underlying evolutionary transitions in telomere repeats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petr Fajkus
- Department of Cell Biology and Radiobiology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno CZ-61265, Czech Republic.,Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic
| | - Agata Kilar
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic.,Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, NCBR, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno CZ-61137, Czech Republic
| | | | - Marcela Holá
- Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague CZ-16000, Czech Republic
| | - Vratislav Peška
- Department of Cell Biology and Radiobiology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno CZ-61265, Czech Republic
| | - Ivana Goffová
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic.,Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, NCBR, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno CZ-61137, Czech Republic
| | - Miloslava Fojtová
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic.,Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, NCBR, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno CZ-61137, Czech Republic
| | - Dagmar Zachová
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Fulnečková
- Department of Cell Biology and Radiobiology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno CZ-61265, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Fajkus
- Department of Cell Biology and Radiobiology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno CZ-61265, Czech Republic.,Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic.,Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, NCBR, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno CZ-61137, Czech Republic
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23
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Logeswaran D, Li Y, Podlevsky JD, Chen JJL. Monophyletic Origin and Divergent Evolution of Animal Telomerase RNA. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:215-228. [PMID: 32770221 PMCID: PMC8480181 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase RNA (TR) is a noncoding RNA essential for the function of telomerase ribonucleoprotein. TRs from vertebrates, fungi, ciliates, and plants exhibit extreme diversity in size, sequence, secondary structure, and biogenesis pathway. However, the evolutionary pathways leading to such unusual diversity among eukaryotic kingdoms remain elusive. Within the metazoan kingdom, the study of TR has been limited to vertebrates and echinoderms. To understand the origin and evolution of TR across the animal kingdom, we employed a phylogeny-guided, structure-based bioinformatics approach to identify 82 novel TRs from eight previously unexplored metazoan phyla, including the basal-branching sponges. Synthetic TRs from two representative species, a hemichordate and a mollusk, reconstitute active telomerase in vitro with their corresponding telomerase reverse transcriptase components, confirming that they are authentic TRs. Comparative analysis shows that three functional domains, template-pseudoknot (T-PK), CR4/5, and box H/ACA, are conserved between vertebrate and the basal metazoan lineages, indicating a monophyletic origin of the animal TRs with a snoRNA-related biogenesis mechanism. Nonetheless, TRs along separate animal lineages evolved with divergent structural elements in the T-PK and CR4/5 domains. For example, TRs from echinoderms and protostomes lack the canonical CR4/5 and have independently evolved functionally equivalent domains with different secondary structures. In the T-PK domain, a P1.1 stem common in most metazoan clades defines the template boundary, which is replaced by a P1-defined boundary in vertebrates. This study provides unprecedented insight into the divergent evolution of detailed TR secondary structures across broad metazoan lineages, revealing ancestral and later-diversified elements.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yang Li
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
| | | | - Julian J-L Chen
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
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Choi JY, Abdulkina LR, Yin J, Chastukhina IB, Lovell JT, Agabekian IA, Young PG, Razzaque S, Shippen DE, Juenger TE, Shakirov EV, Purugganan MD. Natural variation in plant telomere length is associated with flowering time. THE PLANT CELL 2021; 33:1118-1134. [PMID: 33580702 PMCID: PMC8599780 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koab022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres are highly repetitive DNA sequences found at the ends of chromosomes that protect the chromosomes from deterioration duringcell division. Here, using whole-genome re-sequencing and terminal restriction fragment assays, we found substantial natural intraspecific variation in telomere length in Arabidopsis thaliana, rice (Oryza sativa), and maize (Zea mays). Genome-wide association study (GWAS) mapping in A. thaliana identified 13 regions with GWAS-significant associations underlying telomere length variation, including a region that harbors the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene. Population genomic analysis provided evidence for a selective sweep at the TERT region associated with longer telomeres. We found that telomere length is negatively correlated with flowering time variation not only in A. thaliana, but also in maize and rice, indicating a link between life-history traits and chromosome integrity. Our results point to several possible reasons for this correlation, including the possibility that longer telomeres may be more adaptive in plants that have faster developmental rates (and therefore flower earlier). Our work suggests that chromosomal structure itself might be an adaptive trait associated with plant life-history strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae Young Choi
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York 10003, NY, USA
- Author for correspondence: (J.Y.C), (E.V.S.) or (M.D.P.)
| | - Liliia R Abdulkina
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Republic of Tatarstan 420008, Russia
| | - Jun Yin
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - Inna B Chastukhina
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Republic of Tatarstan 420008, Russia
| | - John T Lovell
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA
- Genome Sequencing Center, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Alabama 35806, USA
| | - Inna A Agabekian
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Republic of Tatarstan 420008, Russia
| | - Pierce G Young
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, Texas 77843-2128, USA
| | - Samsad Razzaque
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - Dorothy E Shippen
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, Texas 77843-2128, USA
| | - Thomas E Juenger
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - Eugene V Shakirov
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Republic of Tatarstan 420008, Russia
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Marshall University, West Virginia 25701, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, West Virginia 25755, USA
- Author for correspondence: (J.Y.C), (E.V.S.) or (M.D.P.)
| | - Michael D Purugganan
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York 10003, NY, USA
- Author for correspondence: (J.Y.C), (E.V.S.) or (M.D.P.)
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Bose S, Suescún AV, Song J, Castillo-González C, Aklilu BB, Branham E, Lynch R, Shippen DE. tRNA ADENOSINE DEAMINASE 3 is required for telomere maintenance in Arabidopsis thaliana. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2020; 39:1669-1685. [PMID: 32959123 PMCID: PMC7655638 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-020-02594-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE: tRNA Adenosine Deaminase 3 helps to sustain telomere tracts in a telomerase-independent fashion, likely through regulating cellular metabolism. Telomere length maintenance is influenced by a complex web of chromatin and metabolism-related factors. We previously reported that a lncRNA termed AtTER2 regulates telomerase activity in Arabidopsis thaliana in response to DNA damage. AtTER2 was initially shown to partially overlap with the 5' UTR of the tRNA ADENOSINE DEAMINASE 3 (TAD3) gene. However, updated genome annotation showed that AtTER2 was completely embedded in TAD3, raising the possibility that phenotypes ascribed to AtTER2 could be derived from TAD3. Here we show through strand-specific RNA-Seq, strand-specific qRT-PCR and bioinformatic analyses that AtTER2 does not encode a stable lncRNA. Further examination of the original tad3 (ter2-1/tad3-1) mutant revealed expression of an antisense transcript driven by a cryptic promoter in the T-DNA. Hence, a new hypomorphic allele of TAD3 (tad3-2) was examined. tad3-2 mutants showed hypersensitivity to DNA damage, but no deregulation of telomerase, suggesting that the telomerase phenotype of tad3-1 mutants reflects an off-target effect. Unexpectedly, however, tad3-2 plants displayed progressive loss of telomeric DNA over successive generations that was not accompanied by alteration of terminal architecture or end protection. The phenotype was exacerbated in plants lacking the telomerase processivity factor POT1a, indicating that TAD3 promotes telomere maintenance through a non-canonical, telomerase-independent pathway. The transcriptome of tad3-2 mutants revealed significant dysregulation of genes involved in auxin signaling and glucosinolate biosynthesis, pathways that intersect the stress response, cell cycle regulation and DNA metabolism. These findings indicate that the TAD3 locus indirectly contributes to telomere length homeostasis by altering the metabolic profile in Arabidopsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sreyashree Bose
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Ana Victoria Suescún
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales Y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Jiarui Song
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | | | - Behailu Birhanu Aklilu
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- KWS Gateway Research Center, LLC, 1005 N Warson Rd, BRDG Park, St. Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - Erica Branham
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Ryan Lynch
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Dorothy E Shippen
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 300 Olsen Blvd, Room 413, College Station, TX, 77843-2128, USA.
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Chen L, Zhu QH, Kaufmann K. Long non-coding RNAs in plants: emerging modulators of gene activity in development and stress responses. PLANTA 2020; 252:92. [PMID: 33099688 PMCID: PMC7585572 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-020-03480-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs modulate gene activity in plant development and stress responses by various molecular mechanisms. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcripts larger than 200 nucleotides without protein coding potential. Computational approaches have identified numerous lncRNAs in different plant species. Research in the past decade has unveiled that plant lncRNAs participate in a wide range of biological processes, including regulation of flowering time and morphogenesis of reproductive organs, as well as abiotic and biotic stress responses. LncRNAs execute their functions by interacting with DNA, RNA and protein molecules, and by modulating the expression level of their targets through epigenetic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional or translational regulation. In this review, we summarize characteristics of plant lncRNAs, discuss recent progress on understanding of lncRNA functions, and propose an experimental framework for functional characterization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Chen
- Institute for Biology, Plant Cell and Molecular Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Qian-Hao Zhu
- CSIRO Agriculture and Food, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Kerstin Kaufmann
- Institute for Biology, Plant Cell and Molecular Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
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Schrumpfová PP, Fajkus J. Composition and Function of Telomerase-A Polymerase Associated with the Origin of Eukaryotes. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10101425. [PMID: 33050064 PMCID: PMC7658794 DOI: 10.3390/biom10101425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The canonical DNA polymerases involved in the replication of the genome are unable to fully replicate the physical ends of linear chromosomes, called telomeres. Chromosomal termini thus become shortened in each cell cycle. The maintenance of telomeres requires telomerase—a specific RNA-dependent DNA polymerase enzyme complex that carries its own RNA template and adds telomeric repeats to the ends of chromosomes using a reverse transcription mechanism. Both core subunits of telomerase—its catalytic telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) subunit and telomerase RNA (TR) component—were identified in quick succession in Tetrahymena more than 30 years ago. Since then, both telomerase subunits have been described in various organisms including yeasts, mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. Despite the fact that telomerase activity in plants was described 25 years ago and the TERT subunit four years later, a genuine plant TR has only recently been identified by our group. In this review, we focus on the structure, composition and function of telomerases. In addition, we discuss the origin and phylogenetic divergence of this unique RNA-dependent DNA polymerase as a witness of early eukaryotic evolution. Specifically, we discuss the latest information regarding the recently discovered TR component in plants, its conservation and its structural features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Procházková Schrumpfová
- Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, CZ-61137 Brno, Czech Republic;
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, CZ-62500 Brno, Czech Republic
- Correspondence:
| | - Jiří Fajkus
- Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, CZ-61137 Brno, Czech Republic;
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, CZ-62500 Brno, Czech Republic
- The Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biophysics, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
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Peska V, Mátl M, Mandáková T, Vitales D, Fajkus P, Fajkus J, Garcia S. Human-like telomeres in Zostera marina reveal a mode of transition from the plant to the human telomeric sequences. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2020; 71:5786-5793. [PMID: 32589715 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
A previous study describing the genome of Zostera marina, the most widespread seagrass in the Northern hemisphere, revealed some genomic signatures of adaptation to the aquatic environment such as the loss of stomatal genes, while other functions such as an algal-like cell wall composition were acquired. Beyond these, the genome structure and organization were comparable with those of the majority of plant genomes sequenced, except for one striking feature that went unnoticed at that time: the presence of human-like instead of the expected plant-type telomeric sequences. By using different experimental approaches including fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), genome skimming by next-generation sequencing (NGS), and analysis of non-coding transcriptome, we have confirmed its telomeric location in the chromosomes of Z. marina. We have also identified its telomerase RNA (TR) subunit, confirming the presence of the human-type telomeric sequence in the template region. Remarkably, this region was found to be very variable even in clades with a highly conserved telomeric sequence across their species. Based on this observation, we propose that alternative annealing preferences in the template borders can explain the transition between the plant and human telomeric sequences. The further identification of paralogues of TR in several plant genomes led us to the hypothesis that plants may retain an increased ability to change their telomeric sequence. We discuss the implications of this occurrence in the evolution of telomeres while introducing a mechanistic model for the transition from the plant to the human telomeric sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vratislav Peska
- Department of Cell Biology and Radiobiology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Mátl
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Terezie Mandáková
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel Vitales
- Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB, CSIC-Ajuntament de Barcelona), Passeig del Migdia s/n, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Petr Fajkus
- Department of Cell Biology and Radiobiology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Fajkus
- Department of Cell Biology and Radiobiology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, CEITEC, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, NCBR, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Sònia Garcia
- Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB, CSIC-Ajuntament de Barcelona), Passeig del Migdia s/n, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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Dew-Budd K, Cheung J, Palos K, Forsythe ES, Beilstein MA. Evolutionary and biochemical analyses reveal conservation of the Brassicaceae telomerase ribonucleoprotein complex. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0222687. [PMID: 32271752 PMCID: PMC7145096 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The telomerase ribonucleoprotein complex (RNP) is essential for genome stability and performs this role through the addition of repetitive DNA to the ends of chromosomes. The telomerase enzyme is composed of a reverse transcriptase (TERT), which utilizes a template domain in an RNA subunit (TER) to reiteratively add telomeric DNA at the ends of chromosomes. Multiple TERs have been identified in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Here we combine a phylogenetic and biochemical approach to understand how the telomerase RNP has evolved in Brassicaceae, the family that includes A. thaliana. Because of the complex phylogenetic pattern of template domain loss and alteration at the previously characterized A. thaliana TER loci, TER1 and TER2, across the plant family Brassicaceae, we bred double mutants from plants with a template deletion at AtTER1 and T-DNA insertion at AtTER2. These double mutants exhibited no telomere length deficiency, a definitive indication that neither of these loci encode a functional telomerase RNA. Moreover, we determined that the telomerase components TERT, Dyskerin, and the KU heterodimer are under strong purifying selection, consistent with the idea that the TER with which they interact is also conserved. To test this hypothesis further, we analyzed the substrate specificity of telomerase from species across Brassicaceae and determined that telomerase from close relatives bind and extend substrates in a similar manner, supporting the idea that TERs in different species are highly similar to one another and are likely encoded from an orthologous locus. Lastly, TERT proteins from across Brassicaceae were able to complement loss of function tert mutants in vivo, indicating TERTs from other species have the ability to recognize the native TER of A. thaliana. Finally, we immunoprecipitated the telomerase complex and identified associated RNAs via RNA-seq. Using our evolutionary data we constrained our analyses to conserved RNAs within Brassicaceae that contained a template domain. These analyses revealed a highly expressed locus whose disruption by a T-DNA resulted in a telomeric phenotype similar to the loss of other telomerase core proteins, indicating that the RNA has an important function in telomere maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly Dew-Budd
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Julie Cheung
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Kyle Palos
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Evan S. Forsythe
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Mark A. Beilstein
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Tomáška Ľ, Nosek J. Co-evolution in the Jungle: From Leafcutter Ant Colonies to Chromosomal Ends. J Mol Evol 2020; 88:293-318. [PMID: 32157325 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-020-09935-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Biological entities are multicomponent systems where each part is directly or indirectly dependent on the others. In effect, a change in a single component might have a consequence on the functioning of its partners, thus affecting the fitness of the entire system. In this article, we provide a few examples of such complex biological systems, ranging from ant colonies to a population of amino acids within a single-polypeptide chain. Based on these examples, we discuss one of the central and still challenging questions in biology: how do such multicomponent consortia co-evolve? More specifically, we ask how telomeres, nucleo-protein complexes protecting the integrity of linear DNA chromosomes, originated from the ancestral organisms having circular genomes and thus not dealing with end-replication and end-protection problems. Using the examples of rapidly evolving topologies of mitochondrial genomes in eukaryotic microorganisms, we show what means of co-evolution were employed to accommodate various types of telomere-maintenance mechanisms in mitochondria. We also describe an unprecedented runaway evolution of telomeric repeats in nuclei of ascomycetous yeasts accompanied by co-evolution of telomere-associated proteins. We propose several scenarios derived from research on telomeres and supported by other studies from various fields of biology, while emphasizing that the relevant answers are still not in sight. It is this uncertainty and a lack of a detailed roadmap that makes the journey through the jungle of biological systems still exciting and worth undertaking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ľubomír Tomáška
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia.
| | - Jozef Nosek
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia
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