Cross-competition in editing of chloroplast RNA transcripts in vitro implicates sharing of trans-factors between different C targets

Emergence of Novel RNA-Editing Sites by Changes in the Binding Affinity of a Conserved PPR Protein

RNA editing converts cytidines to uridines in plant organellar transcripts. Editing typically restores codons for conserved amino acids. During evolution, specific C-to-U editing sites can be lost from some plant lineages by genomic C-to-T mutations. By contrast, the emergence of novel editing sites is less well documented. Editing sites are recognized by pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins with high specificity. RNA recognition by PPR proteins is partially predictable, but prediction is often inadequate for PPRs involved in RNA editing. Here we have characterized evolution and recognition of a recently gained editing site. We demonstrate that changes in the RNA recognition motifs that are not explainable with the current PPR code allow an ancient PPR protein, QED1, to uniquely target the ndhB-291 site in Brassicaceae. When expressed in tobacco, the Arabidopsis QED1 edits 33 high-confident off-target sites in chloroplasts and mitochondria causing a spectrum of mutant phenotypes. By manipulating the relative expression levels of QED1 and ndhB-291, we show that the target specificity of the PPR protein depends on the RNA:protein ratio. Finally, our data suggest that the low expression levels of PPR proteins are necessary to ensure the specificity of editing site selection and prevent deleterious off-target editing.

DYW deaminase domain has a distinct preference for neighboring nucleotides of the target RNA editing sites

C-to-U RNA editing sites in plant organelles show a strong bias for neighboring nucleotides. The nucleotide upstream of the target cytidine is typically C or U, whereas A and G are less common and rare, respectively. In pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR)-type RNA editing factors, the PPR domain specifically binds to the 5' sequence of target cytidines, whereas the DYW domain catalyzes the C-to-U deamination. We comprehensively analyzed the effects of neighboring nucleotides of the target cytidines using an Escherichia coli orthogonal system. Physcomitrium PPR56 efficiently edited target cytidines when the nucleotide upstream was U or C, whereas it barely edited when the position was G or the nucleotide downstream was C. This preference pattern, which corresponds well with the observed nucleotide bias for neighboring nucleotides in plant organelles, was altered when the DYW domain of OTP86 or DYW1 was adopted. The PPR56 chimeric proteins edited the target sites even when the -1 position was G. Our results suggest that the DYW domain possesses a distinct preference for the neighboring nucleotides of the target sites, thus contributing to target selection in addition to the existing selection determined by the PPR domain.

Identification of soybean trans-factors associated with plastid RNA editing sites

RNA editing is a posttranscriptional process that changes nucleotide sequences, among which cytosine-to-uracil by a deamination reaction can revert non-neutral codon mutations. Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins comprise a family of RNA-binding proteins, with members acting as editing trans-factors that recognize specific RNA cis-elements and perform the deamination reaction. PPR proteins are classified into P and PLS subfamilies. In this work, we have designed RNA biotinylated probes based in soybean plastid RNA editing sites to perform trans-factor specific protein isolation. Soybean cis-elements from these three different RNA probes show differences in respect to other species. Pulldown samples were submitted to mass spectrometry for protein identification. Among detected proteins, five corresponded to PPR proteins. More than one PPR protein, with distinct functional domains, was pulled down with each one of the RNA probes. Comparison of the soybean PPR proteins to Arabidopsis allowed identification of the closest homologous. Differential gene expression analysis demonstrated that the PPR locus Glyma.02G174500 doubled its expression under salt stress, which correlates with the increase of its potential rps14 editing. The present study represents the first identification of RNA editing trans-factors in soybean. Data also indicated that potential multiple trans-factors should interact with RNA cis-elements to perform the RNA editing.

Identification and analysis of RNA editing sites in chloroplast transcripts of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.)

RNA editing is one of the post-transcriptional modification processes and can lead to changes in sequencing and functioning of corresponding proteins and genetic information. To reveal the composition and characteristic of RNA editing of kenaf chloroplast genome, the RNA editing sites in kenaf chloroplast were predicted and identified using bioinformatics and RT-PCR analysis. The prediction results showed a total of 48 editing sites distributed in 22 genes, all of them were C to U conversion leading to amino acid changes. Further analysis of the position of RNA editing sites revealed that except 11 editing sites located at the first codon base, the other editing sites were found at the second codon base. Then four genes were randomly selected to validate the editing sites. Results showed that it was accurate to study the chloroplast RNA editing sites by bioinformatics method accompanied with cloning sequencing. Furthermore, the protein secondary structure and transmembrane domain of ndhD and atpA that had undergone gene editing also changed after editing. This implied that proteins with structural changes may have an impact on kenaf growth. Meanwhile, the differential editing site was found in chloroplast transcripts in kenaf CMS line and its maintainer line, indicating that chloroplast RNA editing could be associated with kenaf CMS. Therefore, the present study laid a foundation to further reveal the biological functioning of chloroplast RNA editing in CMS and its maintainer lines in kenaf.

A pentatricopeptide repeat protein acts as a site-specificity factor at multiple RNA editing sites with unrelated cis-acting elements in plastids

In plant organelles, RNA editing alters specific cytidine residues to uridine in transcripts. All of the site-specificity factors of RNA editing identified so far are pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins. A defect in a specific PPR protein often impairs RNA editing at multiple sites, at which the cis-acting elements are not highly conserved. The molecular mechanism for sharing a single PPR protein over multiple sites is still unclear. We focused here on the PPR proteins OTP82 and CRR22, the putative target elements of which are, respectively, partially and barely conserved. Recombinant OTP82 specifically bound to the −15 to 0 regions of its target sites. Recombinant CRR22 specifically bound to the −20 to 0 regions of the ndhB-7 and ndhD-5 sites and to the −17 to 0 region of the rpoB-3 site. Taking this information together with the genetic data, we conclude that OTP82 and CRR22 act as site-specificity factors at multiple sites in plastids. In addition, the high-affinity binding of CRR22 to unrelated cis-acting elements suggests that only certain specific nucleotides in a cis-acting element are sufficient for high-affinity binding of a PPR protein. The cis-acting elements can therefore be rather divergent and still be recognized by a single PPR protein.

The RNA editing pattern of cox2 mRNA is affected by point mutations in plant mitochondria

The mitochondrial transcriptome from land plants undergoes hundreds of specific C-to-U changes by RNA editing. These events are important since most of them occur in the coding region of mRNAs. One challenging question is to understand the mechanism of recognition of a selected C residue (editing sites) on the transcript. It has been reported that a short region surrounding the target C forms the cis-recognition elements, but individual residues on it do not play similar roles for the different editing sites. Here, we studied the role of the −1 and +1 nucleotide in wheat cox2 editing site recognition using an in organello approach. We found that four different recognition patterns can be distinguished: (a) +1 dependency, (b) −1 dependency, (c) +1/−1 dependency, and (d) no dependency on nearest neighbor residues. A striking observation was that whereas a 23 nt cis region is necessary for editing, some mutants affect the editing efficiency of unmodified distant sites. As a rule, mutations or pre-edited variants of the transcript have an impact on the complete set of editing targets. When some Cs were changed into Us, the remaining editing sites presented a higher efficiency of C-to-U conversion than in wild type mRNA. Our data suggest that the complex response observed for cox2 mRNA may be a consequence of the fate of the transcript during mitochondrial gene expression.

When you can't trust the DNA: RNA editing changes transcript sequences

RNA editing describes targeted sequence alterations in RNAs so that the transcript sequences differ from their DNA template. Since the original discovery of RNA editing in trypanosomes nearly 25 years ago more than a dozen such processes of nucleotide insertions, deletions, and exchanges have been identified in evolutionarily widely separated groups of the living world including plants, animals, fungi, protists, bacteria, and viruses. In many cases gene expression in mitochondria is affected, but RNA editing also takes place in chloroplasts and in nucleocytosolic genetic environments. While some RNA editing systems largely seem to repair defect genes (cryptogenes), others have obvious functions in modulating gene activities. The present review aims for an overview on the current states of research in the different systems of RNA editing by following a historic timeline along the respective original discoveries.

In vivo analysis of RNA editing in plastids

mRNA editing in plastids (chloroplasts) of higher plants proceeds by cytidine-to-uridine conversion at highly specific sites. Editing sites are recognized by the interplay of cis-acting elements at the RNA level and site-specific trans-acting protein factors that are believed to bind to the cis-elements in a sequence-specific manner. The C-to-U editing enzyme, a presumptive cytidine deaminase acting on polynucleotides, is still unknown. The development of methods for the stable genetic transformation of the plastid genome in higher plants has facilitated the analysis of RNA editing in vivo. Plastid transformation has been extensively used to define the sequence requirements for editing site selection and to address questions about editing site evolution. This chapter describes the basic methods involved in the generation and analysis of plants with transgenic chloroplast genomes and summarizes the applications of plastid transformation in editing research.

RNA editing in plant mitochondria: 20 years later

In 1989, three laboratories (in Canada, France and Germany) independently and simultaneously reported the discovery of C-to-U RNA editing in plant mitochondria (1-3). To mark the 20th anniversary of this finding, the leaders of the three research teams have written personal essays describing the events leading up to the discovery in each of their laboratories. These essays are intended not only to capture historical facts but also to illustrate unexpected convergence in the process of scientific discovery, with different groups coming to the same conclusion, often very close together in time, drawing on different types of evidence and via sometimes quite different hypotheses and approaches. Essential background information pertaining to RNA editing in general and RNA editing in plant organelles in particular is provided in this overview.

MEF9, an E-subclass pentatricopeptide repeat protein, is required for an RNA editing event in the nad7 transcript in mitochondria of Arabidopsis

RNA editing in plants alters specific nucleotides from C to U in mRNAs in plastids and in mitochondria. I here characterize the nuclear gene MITOCHONDRIAL EDITING FACTOR9 (MEF9) that is required for RNA editing of the site nad7-200 in the nad7 mitochondrial mRNA in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The MEF9 protein belongs to the E subfamily of pentatricopeptide repeat proteins and unlike the three previously identified mitochondrial editing factors MEF1 and MEF11 in Arabidopsis and OGR1 in rice (Oryza sativa) does not contain a DYW C-terminal domain. In addition, the E domain is incomplete, but seems to be functionally required, since one of the two independent EMS mutants encodes a MEF9 protein truncated by a stop codon at the beginning of the E domain. In both mutant plants premature stop codons in MEF9 inactivate RNA editing at site nad7-200. The homozygous mutant plants are viable and develop rather normally. The lack of RNA editing at site nad7-200 thus seems to be tolerated although this editing event is conserved in most plant species or the genomic sequence already codes for a T at this position, resulting in a generally conserved amino acid codon.

Chloroplast RNA metabolism

The chloroplast genome encodes proteins required for photosynthesis, gene expression, and other essential organellar functions. Derived from a cyanobacterial ancestor, the chloroplast combines prokaryotic and eukaryotic features of gene expression and is regulated by many nucleus-encoded proteins. This review covers four major chloroplast posttranscriptional processes: RNA processing, editing, splicing, and turnover. RNA processing includes the generation of transcript 5' and 3' termini, as well as the cleavage of polycistronic transcripts. Editing converts specific C residues to U and often changes the amino acid that is specified by the edited codon. Chloroplasts feature introns of groups I and II, which undergo protein-facilitated cis- or trans-splicing in vivo. Each of these RNA-based processes involves proteins of the pentatricopeptide motif-containing family, which does not occur in prokaryotes. Plant-specific RNA-binding proteins may underpin the adaptation of the chloroplast to the eukaryotic context.

Distinct roles for sequences upstream of and downstream from Physarum editing sites

RNAs in the mitochondria of Physarum polycephalum contain nonencoded nucleotides that are added during RNA synthesis. Essentially all steady-state RNAs are accurately and fully edited, yet the signals guiding these precise nucleotide insertions are presently unknown. To localize the regions of the template that are required for editing, we constructed a series of chimeric templates that substitute varying amounts of DNA either upstream of or downstream from C insertion sites. Remarkably, all sequences necessary for C addition are contained within approximately 9 base pairs on either side of the insertion site. In addition, our data strongly suggest that sequences within this critical region affect different steps in the editing reaction. Template alterations upstream of an editing site influence nucleotide selection and/or insertion, while downstream changes affect editing site recognition and templated extension from the added, unpaired nucleotide. The data presented here provide the first evidence that individual regions of the DNA template play discrete mechanistic roles and represent a crucial initial step toward defining the source of the editing specificity in Physarum mitochondria. In addition, these findings have mechanistic implications regarding the potential involvement of the mitochondrial RNA polymerase in the editing reaction.

Loss of matK RNA editing in seed plant chloroplasts

Background

RNA editing in chloroplasts of angiosperms proceeds by C-to-U conversions at specific sites. Nuclear-encoded factors are required for the recognition of cis-elements located immediately upstream of editing sites. The ensemble of editing sites in a chloroplast genome differs widely between species, and editing sites are thought to evolve rapidly. However, large-scale analyses of the evolution of individual editing sites have not yet been undertaken.

Results

Here, we analyzed the evolution of two chloroplast editing sites, matK-2 and matK-3, for which DNA sequences from thousands of angiosperm species are available. Both sites are found in most major taxa, including deep-branching families such as the nymphaeaceae. However, 36 isolated taxa scattered across the entire tree lack a C at one of the two matK editing sites. Tests of several exemplary species from this in silico analysis of matK processing unexpectedly revealed that one of the two sites remain unedited in almost half of all species examined. A comparison of sequences between editors and non-editors showed that specific nucleotides co-evolve with the C at the matK editing sites, suggesting that these nucleotides are critical for editing-site recognition.

Conclusion

(i) Both matK editing sites were present in the common ancestor of all angiosperms and have been independently lost multiple times during angiosperm evolution.

(ii) The editing activities corresponding to matK-2 and matK-3 are unstable.

(iii) A small number of third-codon positions in the vicinity of editing sites are selectively constrained independent of the presence of the editing site, most likely because of interacting RNA-binding proteins.

A comparative genomics approach identifies a PPR-DYW protein that is essential for C-to-U editing of the Arabidopsis chloroplast accD transcript

Several nuclear-encoded proteins containing pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) motifs have previously been identified to be trans-factors essential for particular chloroplast RNA editing events through analysis of mutants affected in chloroplast biogenesis or function. Other PPR genes are known to encode proteins involved in other aspects of organelle RNA metabolism. A function has not been assigned to most members of the large plant PPR gene family. Arabidopsis and rice each contain over 400 PPR genes, of which about a fifth exhibit a C-terminal DYW domain. We describe here a comparative genomics approach that will facilitate identification of the role of RNA-binding proteins in organelle RNA metabolism. We have implemented this strategy to identify an Arabidopsis nuclear-encoded gene RARE1 that is required for editing of the chloroplast accD transcript. RARE1 carries 15 PPR motifs, an E/E+ and a DYW domain, whereas previously reported editing factors CRR4, CRR21, and CLB19 lack a DYW domain. The accD gene encodes the beta carboxyltransferase subunit of acetyl coA carboxylase, which catalyzes the first step in fatty acid biosynthesis in chloroplasts. Despite a lack of accD C794 editing and lack of restoration of an evolutionarily conserved leucine residue in the beta carboxyltransferase protein, rare1 mutants are unexpectedly robust and reproduce under growth room conditions. Previously the serine-to-leucine alteration caused by editing was deemed essential in the light of the finding that a recombinantly expressed "unedited" form of the pea acetyl coA carboxylase was catalytically inactive.

CURE-Chloroplast: a chloroplast C-to-U RNA editing predictor for seed plants

BACKGROUND

RNA editing is a type of post-transcriptional modification of RNA and belongs to the class of mechanisms that contribute to the complexity of transcriptomes. C-to-U RNA editing is commonly observed in plant mitochondria and chloroplasts. The in vivo mechanism of recognizing C-to-U RNA editing sites is still unknown. In recent years, many efforts have been made to computationally predict C-to-U RNA editing sites in the mitochondria of seed plants, but there is still no algorithm available for C-to-U RNA editing site prediction in the chloroplasts of seed plants.

RESULTS

In this paper, we extend our algorithm CURE, which can accurately predict the C-to-U RNA editing sites in mitochondria, to predict C-to-U RNA editing sites in the chloroplasts of seed plants. The algorithm achieves over 80% sensitivity and over 99% specificity. We implement the algorithm as an online service called CURE-Chloroplast http://bioinfo.au.tsinghua.edu.cn/pure.

CONCLUSION

CURE-Chloroplast is an online service for predicting the C-to-U RNA editing sites in the chloroplasts of seed plants. The online service allows the processing of entire chloroplast genome sequences. Since CURE-Chloroplast performs very well, it could be a helpful tool in the study of C-to-U RNA editing in the chloroplasts of seed plants.

Post-transcriptional control of chloroplast gene expression

Chloroplasts contain their own genome, organized as operons, which are generally transcribed as polycistronic transcriptional units. These primary transcripts are processed into smaller RNAs, which are further modified to produce functional RNAs. The RNA processing mechanisms remain largely unknown and represent an important step in the control of chloroplast gene expression. Such mechanisms include RNA cleavage of pre-existing RNAs, RNA stabilization, intron splicing, and RNA editing. Recently, several nuclear-encoded proteins that participate in diverse plastid RNA processing events have been characterised. Many of them seem to belong to the pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein family that is implicated in many crucial functions including organelle biogenesis and plant development. This review will provide an overview of current knowledge of the post-transcriptional processing in chloroplasts.

A DYW domain-containing pentatricopeptide repeat protein is required for RNA editing at multiple sites in mitochondria of Arabidopsis thaliana

RNA editing in flowering plant mitochondria alters 400 to 500 nucleotides from C to U, changing the information content of most mRNAs and some tRNAs. So far, none of the specific or general factors responsible for RNA editing in plant mitochondria have been identified. Here, we characterize a nuclear-encoded gene that is involved in RNA editing of three specific sites in different mitochondrial mRNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana, editing sites rps4-956, nad7-963, and nad2-1160. The encoded protein MITOCHONDRIAL RNA EDITING FACTOR1 (MEF1) belongs to the DYW subfamily of pentatricopeptide repeat proteins. Amino acid identities altered in MEF1 from ecotype C24, in comparison to Columbia, lower the activity at these editing sites; single amino acid changes in mutant plants inactivate RNA editing. These variations most likely modify the affinity of the editing factor to the affected editing sites in C24 and in the mutant plants. Since lowered and even absent RNA editing is tolerated at these sites, the amino acid changes may be silent for the respective protein functions. Possibly more than these three identified editing sites are addressed by this first factor identified for RNA editing in plant mitochondria.

Multiple specificity recognition motifs enhance plant mitochondrial RNA editing in vitro

Analysis of RNA editing in plant mitochondria has at least in vitro been hampered by very low activity. Consequently, none of the trans-acting factors involved has yet been identified. We here report that in vitro RNA editing increases dramatically when additional cognate recognition motifs are introduced into the template RNA molecule. Substrate RNAs with tandemly repeated recognition elements enhance in vitro RNA editing from 2-3% to 50-80%. The stimulation is not influenced by the editing status of a respective RNA editing site, suggesting that specific recognition of a site can be independent of the edited nucleotide itself. In vivo, attachment of the editing complex may thus be analogously initiated at sequence similarities in the vicinity of bona fide editing sites. This cis-acting enhancement decreases with increasing distance between the duplicated specificity signals; a cooperative effect is detectable up to approximately 200 nucleotides. Such repeated template constructs promise to be powerful tools for the RNA affinity identification of the as yet unknown trans-factors of plant mitochondrial RNA editing.

Organellar RNA editing and plant-specific extensions of pentatricopeptide repeat proteins in jungermanniid but not in marchantiid liverworts

The pyrimidine exchange type of RNA editing in land plant (embryophyte) organelles has largely remained an enigma with respect to its biochemical mechanisms, the underlying specificities, and its raison d'être. Apparently arising with the earliest embryophytes, RNA editing is conspicuously absent in one clade of liverworts, the complex thalloid Marchantiidae. Several lines of evidence suggest that the large gene family of organelle-targeted RNA-binding pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins plays a fundamental role in the sequence-specific editing of organelle transcripts. We here describe the identification of PPR protein genes with plant-specific carboxyterminal (C-terminal) sequence signatures (E, E+, and DYW domains) in ferns, lycopodiophytes, mosses, hornworts, and jungermanniid liverworts, one subclass of the basal most clade of embryophytes, on DNA and cDNA level. In contrast, we were unable to identify these genes in a wide sampling of marchantiid liverworts (including the phylogenetic basal genus Blasia)--taxa for which no RNA editing is observed in the organelle transcripts. On the other hand, we found significant diversity of this type of PPR proteins also in Haplomitrium, a genus with an extremely high rate of RNA editing and a phylogenetic placement basal to all other liverworts. Although the presence of modularly extended PPR proteins correlates well with organelle RNA editing, the now apparent complete loss of an entire gene family from one clade of embryophytes, the marchantiid liverworts, remains puzzling.