1
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Chorostecki U, Saus E, Gabaldón T. Probing RNA structural landscapes across Candida yeast genomes. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1362067. [PMID: 38468856 PMCID: PMC10926079 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1362067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the intricate roles of RNA molecules in virulence and host-pathogen interactions can provide valuable insights into combatting infections and improving human health. Although much progress has been achieved in understanding transcriptional regulation during host-pathogen interactions in diverse species, more is needed to know about the structure of pathogen RNAs. This is particularly true for fungal pathogens, including pathogenic yeasts of the Candida genus, which are the leading cause of hospital-acquired fungal infections. Our work addresses the gap between RNA structure and their biology by employing genome-wide structure probing to comprehensively explore the structural landscape of mRNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the four major Candida pathogens. Specifically focusing on mRNA, we observe a robust correlation between sequence conservation and structural characteristics in orthologous transcripts, significantly when sequence identity exceeds 50%, highlighting structural feature conservation among closely related species. We investigate the impact of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on mRNA secondary structure. SNPs within 5' untranslated regions (UTRs) tend to occur in less structured positions, suggesting structural constraints influencing transcript regulation. Furthermore, we compare the structural properties of coding regions and UTRs, noting that coding regions are generally more structured than UTRs, consistent with similar trends in other species. Additionally, we provide the first experimental characterization of lncRNA structures in Candida species. Most lncRNAs form independent subdomains, similar to human lncRNAs. Notably, we identify hairpin-like structures in lncRNAs, a feature known to be functionally significant. Comparing hairpin prevalence between lncRNAs and protein-coding genes, we find enrichment in lncRNAs across Candida species, humans, and Arabidopsis thaliana, suggesting a conserved role for these structures. In summary, our study offers valuable insights into the interplay between RNA sequence, structure, and function in Candida pathogens, with implications for gene expression regulation and potential therapeutic strategies against Candida infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uciel Chorostecki
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
- Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC-CNS), Barcelona, Spain
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ester Saus
- Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC-CNS), Barcelona, Spain
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Toni Gabaldón
- Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC-CNS), Barcelona, Spain
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Barcelona, Spain
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2
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Martin GT, Solares E, Guadardo-Mendez J, Muyle A, Bousios A, Gaut BS. miRNA-like secondary structures in maize ( Zea mays) genes and transposable elements correlate with small RNAs, methylation, and expression. Genome Res 2023; 33:1932-1946. [PMID: 37918960 PMCID: PMC10760457 DOI: 10.1101/gr.277459.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
RNA molecules carry information in their primary sequence and also their secondary structure. Secondary structure can confer important functional information, but it is also a signal for an RNAi-like host epigenetic response mediated by small RNAs (smRNAs). In this study, we used two bioinformatic methods to predict local secondary structures across features of the maize genome, focusing on small regions that had similar folding properties to pre-miRNA loci. We found miRNA-like secondary structures to be common in genes and most, but not all, superfamilies of RNA and DNA transposable elements (TEs). The miRNA-like regions map to a higher diversity of smRNAs than regions without miRNA-like structure, explaining up to 27% of variation in smRNA mapping for some TE superfamilies. This mapping bias is more pronounced among putatively autonomous TEs relative to nonautonomous TEs. Genome-wide, miRNA-like regions are also associated with elevated methylation levels, particularly in the CHH context. Among genes, those with miRNA-like secondary structure are 1.5-fold more highly expressed, on average, than other genes. However, these genes are also more variably expressed across the 26 nested association mapping founder lines, and this variability positively correlates with the number of mapping smRNAs. We conclude that local miRNA-like structures are a nearly ubiquitous feature of expressed regions of the maize genome, that they correlate with higher smRNA mapping and methylation, and that they may represent a trade-off between functional requirements and the potentially negative consequences of smRNA production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Galen T Martin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92617, USA
| | - Edwin Solares
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92617, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | - Jeanelle Guadardo-Mendez
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92617, USA
| | - Aline Muyle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92617, USA
- CEFE, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Alexandros Bousios
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - Brandon S Gaut
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92617, USA;
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3
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Fang JC, Liu MJ. Translation initiation at AUG and non-AUG triplets in plants. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2023; 335:111822. [PMID: 37574140 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
In plants and other eukaryotes, precise selection of translation initiation site (TIS) on mRNAs shapes the proteome in response to cellular events or environmental cues. The canonical translation of mRNAs initiates at a 5' proximal AUG codon in a favorable context. However, the coding and non-coding regions of plant genomes contain numerous unannotated alternative AUG and non-AUG TISs. Determining how and why these unexpected and prevalent TISs are activated in plants has emerged as an exciting research area. In this review, we focus on the selection of plant TISs and highlight studies that revealed previously unannotated TISs used in vivo via comparative genomics and genome-wide profiling of ribosome positioning and protein N-terminal ends. The biological signatures of non-AUG TIS-initiated open reading frames (ORFs) in plants are also discussed. We describe what is understood about cis-regulatory RNA elements and trans-acting eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) in the site selection for translation initiation by featuring the findings in plants along with supporting findings in non-plant species. The prevalent, unannotated TISs provide a hidden reservoir of ORFs that likely help reshape plant proteomes in response to developmental or environmental cues. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the mechanistic basis of TIS selection to functionally annotate plant genomes, especially for crops with large genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jhen-Cheng Fang
- Biotechnology Center in Southern Taiwan, Academia Sinica, Tainan 711, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Jung Liu
- Biotechnology Center in Southern Taiwan, Academia Sinica, Tainan 711, Taiwan; Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan.
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4
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Bai B, Schiffthaler B, van der Horst S, Willems L, Vergara A, Karlström J, Mähler N, Delhomme N, Bentsink L, Hanson J. SeedTransNet: a directional translational network revealing regulatory patterns during seed maturation and germination. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:2416-2432. [PMID: 36208446 PMCID: PMC10082931 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Seed maturation is the developmental process that prepares the embryo for the desiccated waiting period before germination. It is associated with a series of physiological changes leading to the establishment of seed dormancy, seed longevity, and desiccation tolerance. We studied translational changes during seed maturation and observed a gradual reduction in global translation during seed maturation. Transcriptome and translatome profiling revealed specific reduction in the translation of thousands of genes. By including previously published data on germination and seedling establishment, a regulatory network based on polysome occupancy data was constructed: SeedTransNet. Network analysis predicted translational regulatory pathways involving hundreds of genes with distinct functions. The network identified specific transcript sequence features suggesting separate translational regulatory circuits. The network revealed several seed maturation-associated genes as central nodes, and this was confirmed by specific seed phenotypes of the respective mutants. One of the regulators identified, an AWPM19 family protein, PM19-Like1 (PM19L1), was shown to regulate seed dormancy and longevity. This putative RNA-binding protein also affects the translational regulation of its target mRNA, as identified by SeedTransNet. Our data show the usefulness of SeedTransNet in identifying regulatory pathways during seed phase transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Bai
- Umeå Plant Science Center, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
- Wageningen Seed Science Centre, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Bastian Schiffthaler
- Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Sjors van der Horst
- Department of Molecular Plant Physiology, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Leo Willems
- Wageningen Seed Science Centre, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander Vergara
- Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Jacob Karlström
- Umeå Plant Science Center, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Niklas Mähler
- Umeå Plant Science Center, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Nicolas Delhomme
- Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
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5
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Xu B, Zhu Y, Cao C, Chen H, Jin Q, Li G, Ma J, Yang SL, Zhao J, Zhu J, Ding Y, Fang X, Jin Y, Kwok CK, Ren A, Wan Y, Wang Z, Xue Y, Zhang H, Zhang QC, Zhou Y. Recent advances in RNA structurome. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2022; 65:1285-1324. [PMID: 35717434 PMCID: PMC9206424 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-021-2116-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
RNA structures are essential to support RNA functions and regulation in various biological processes. Recently, a range of novel technologies have been developed to decode genome-wide RNA structures and novel modes of functionality across a wide range of species. In this review, we summarize key strategies for probing the RNA structurome and discuss the pros and cons of representative technologies. In particular, these new technologies have been applied to dissect the structural landscape of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome. We also summarize the functionalities of RNA structures discovered in different regulatory layers-including RNA processing, transport, localization, and mRNA translation-across viruses, bacteria, animals, and plants. We review many versatile RNA structural elements in the context of different physiological and pathological processes (e.g., cell differentiation, stress response, and viral replication). Finally, we discuss future prospects for RNA structural studies to map the RNA structurome at higher resolution and at the single-molecule and single-cell level, and to decipher novel modes of RNA structures and functions for innovative applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingbing Xu
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Yanda Zhu
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Changchang Cao
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Hao Chen
- Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Qiongli Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Guangnan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Junfeng Ma
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Siwy Ling Yang
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jieyu Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Jianghui Zhu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology and Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yiliang Ding
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, United Kingdom.
| | - Xianyang Fang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
| | - Yongfeng Jin
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
| | - Chun Kit Kwok
- Department of Chemistry, and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
- Shenzhen Research Institute of City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, 518057, China.
| | - Aiming Ren
- Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
| | - Yue Wan
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Zhiye Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
| | - Yuanchao Xue
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Huakun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.
| | - Qiangfeng Cliff Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology and Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
- Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, 100084, China.
| | - Yu Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
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6
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Li Y, Baptista RP, Mei X, Kissinger JC. Small and intermediate size structural RNAs in the unicellular parasite Cryptosporidium parvum as revealed by sRNA-seq and comparative genomics. Microb Genom 2022; 8. [PMID: 35536609 PMCID: PMC9465071 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Small and intermediate-size noncoding RNAs (sRNAs and is-ncRNAs) have been shown to play important regulatory roles in the development of several eukaryotic organisms. However, they have not been thoroughly explored in Cryptosporidium parvum, an obligate zoonotic protist parasite responsible for the diarrhoeal disease cryptosporidiosis. Using Illumina sequencing of a small RNA library, a systematic identification of novel small and is-ncRNAs was performed in C. parvum excysted sporozoites. A total of 79 novel is-ncRNA candidates, including antisense, intergenic and intronic is-ncRNAs, were identified, including 7 new small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs). Expression of select novel is-ncRNAs was confirmed by RT-PCR. Phylogenetic conservation was analysed using covariance models (CMs) in related Cryptosporidium and apicomplexan parasite genome sequences. A potential new type of small ncRNA derived from tRNA fragments was observed. Overall, a deep profiling analysis of novel is-ncRNAs in C. parvum and related species revealed structural features and conservation of these novel is-ncRNAs. Covariance models can be used to detect is-ncRNA genes in other closely related parasites. These findings provide important new sequences for additional functional characterization of novel is-ncRNAs in the protist pathogen C. parvum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiran Li
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Rodrigo P Baptista
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Present address: Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xiaohan Mei
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Jessica C Kissinger
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.,Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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7
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Zhang C, Li Y, Wang J, Xue X, Beuchat G, Chen LQ. Two evolutionarily duplicated domains individually and post-transcriptionally control SWEET expression for phloem transport. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 232:1793-1807. [PMID: 34431115 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Cell type-specific gene expression is critical for the specialized functions within multicellular organisms. In Arabidopsis, SWEET11 and SWEET12 sugar transporters are specifically expressed in phloem parenchyma (PP) cells and are responsible for sucrose efflux from the PP, the first step of a two-step apoplasmic phloem-loading strategy that initiates the long-distance transport of sugar from leaves to nonphotosynthetic sink tissues. However, we know nothing about what determines the PP cell-specific expression of these SWEETs. Sequence deletions, histochemical β-glucuronidase (GUS) analysis, cross-sectioning, live-cell imaging, and evolutionary analysis were used to elucidate domains responsible for PP specificity, while a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) sensor-based transport assay was used to determine whether substrate specificity coevolved with PP specificity. We identified two domains in the Arabidopsis SWEET11 coding sequence that, along with its promoter (including 5' UTR), regulate PP-specific expression at the post-transcriptional level, probably involving RNA-binding proteins. This mechanism is conserved among vascular plants but independent of transport substrate specificity. We conclude that two evolutionarily duplicated coding sequence domains are essential and individually sufficient for PP-specific expression of SWEET11. We also provide a crucial experimental tool to study PP physiology and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Zhang
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Ye Li
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 ZhongGuanCun South Street, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Jiang Wang
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Xueyi Xue
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Gabriel Beuchat
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Li-Qing Chen
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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8
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Novel insights into the pervasive role of RNA structure in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in plants. Biochem Soc Trans 2021; 49:1829-1839. [PMID: 34436520 PMCID: PMC8421050 DOI: 10.1042/bst20210318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
RNA folding is an intrinsic property of RNA that serves a key role in every step of post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, from RNA maturation to translation in plants. Recent developments of genome-wide RNA structure profiling methods have transformed research in this area enabling focus to shift from individual molecules to the study of tens of thousands of RNAs. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of recent advances in the field. We discuss these new insights of RNA structure functionality within the context of post-transcriptional regulation including mRNA maturation, translation, and RNA degradation in plants. Notably, we also provide an overview of how plants exhibit different RNA structures in response to environmental changes.
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9
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Wang XW, Liu CX, Chen LL, Zhang QC. RNA structure probing uncovers RNA structure-dependent biological functions. Nat Chem Biol 2021; 17:755-766. [PMID: 34172967 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-021-00805-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
RNA molecules fold into complex structures that enable their diverse functions in cells. Recent revolutionary innovations in transcriptome-wide RNA structural probing of living cells have ushered in a new era in understanding RNA functions. Here, we summarize the latest technological advances for probing RNA secondary structures and discuss striking discoveries that have linked RNA regulation and biological processes through interrogation of RNA structures. In particular, we highlight how different long noncoding RNAs form into distinct secondary structures that determine their modes of interactions with protein partners to realize their unique functions. These dynamic structures mediate RNA regulatory functions through altering interactions with proteins and other RNAs. We also outline current methodological hurdles and speculate about future directions for development of the next generation of RNA structure-probing technologies of higher sensitivity and resolution, which could then be applied in increasingly physiologically relevant studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi-Wen Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology and Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.,Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chu-Xiao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Ling-Ling Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. .,School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China. .,School of Life Sciences, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Qiangfeng Cliff Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology and Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. .,Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, China.
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10
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Hung YH, Slotkin RK. The initiation of RNA interference (RNAi) in plants. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2021; 61:102014. [PMID: 33657510 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
When an mRNA enters into the RNA degradation pathway called RNA interference (RNAi), it is cleaved into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that then target complementary mRNAs for destruction. The consequence of entry into RNAi is mRNA degradation, post-transcriptional silencing and in some cases transcriptional silencing. RNAi functions as a defense against transposable element and virus activity, and in plants, RNAi additionally plays a role in development by regulating some genes. However, it is unknown how specific transcripts are selected for RNAi, and how most genic mRNAs steer clear. This Current Opinion article explores the key question of how RNAs are selected for entry into RNAi, and proposes models that enable the cell to distinguish between transcripts to translate versus destroy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Hung Hung
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - R Keith Slotkin
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, 63132, USA; Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, 65211, USA.
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11
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Zhu J, Li C, Peng X, Zhang X. RNA architecture influences plant biology. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2021; 72:4144-4160. [PMID: 33484251 PMCID: PMC8130982 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The majority of the genome is transcribed to RNA in living organisms. RNA transcripts can form astonishing arrays of secondary and tertiary structures via Watson-Crick, Hoogsteen, or wobble base pairing. In vivo, RNA folding is not a simple thermodynamic event of minimizing free energy. Instead, the process is constrained by transcription, RNA-binding proteins, steric factors, and the microenvironment. RNA secondary structure (RSS) plays myriad roles in numerous biological processes, such as RNA processing, stability, transportation, and translation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Emerging evidence has also implicated RSS in RNA trafficking, liquid-liquid phase separation, and plant responses to environmental variations such as temperature and salinity. At molecular level, RSS is correlated with splicing, polyadenylation, protein synthesis, and miRNA biogenesis and functions. In this review, we summarize newly reported methods for probing RSS in vivo and functions and mechanisms of RSS in plant physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Zhu
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - Changhao Li
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - Xu Peng
- Department of Medical Physiology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - Xiuren Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Correspondence:
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12
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Qi Y, Zhang Y, Zheng G, Chen B, Zhang M, Li J, Peng T, Huang J, Wang X. In Vivo and In Vitro Genome-Wide Profiling of RNA Secondary Structures Reveals Key Regulatory Features in Plasmodium falciparum. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11:673966. [PMID: 34079769 PMCID: PMC8166286 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.673966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It is widely accepted that the structure of RNA plays important roles in a number of biological processes, such as polyadenylation, splicing, and catalytic functions. Dynamic changes in RNA structure are able to regulate the gene expression programme and can be used as a highly specific and subtle mechanism for governing cellular processes. However, the nature of most RNA secondary structures in Plasmodium falciparum has not been determined. To investigate the genome-wide RNA secondary structural features at single-nucleotide resolution in P. falciparum, we applied a novel high-throughput method utilizing the chemical modification of RNA structures to characterize these structures. Structural data from parasites are in close agreement with the known 18S ribosomal RNA secondary structures of P. falciparum and can help to predict the in vivo RNA secondary structure of a total of 3,396 transcripts in the ring-stage and trophozoite-stage developmental cycles. By parallel analysis of RNA structures in vivo and in vitro during the Plasmodium parasite ring-stage and trophozoite-stage intraerythrocytic developmental cycles, we identified some key regulatory features. Recent studies have established that the RNA structure is a ubiquitous and fundamental regulator of gene expression. Our study indicate that there is a critical connection between RNA secondary structure and mRNA abundance during the complex biological programme of P. falciparum. This work presents a useful framework and important results, which may facilitate further research investigating the interactions between RNA secondary structure and the complex biological programme in P. falciparum. The RNA secondary structure characterized in this study has potential applications and important implications regarding the identification of RNA structural elements, which are important for parasite infection and elucidating host-parasite interactions and parasites in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanwei Qi
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuhong Zhang
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guixing Zheng
- Department of Blood Transfusion, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bingxia Chen
- The Third Clinical School, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mengxin Zhang
- The Third Clinical School, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Tao Peng
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Basic Medical Science, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jun Huang
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinhua Wang
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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13
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Del Pozo-Acebo L, López de Las Hazas MC, Margollés A, Dávalos A, García-Ruiz A. Eating microRNAs: pharmacological opportunities for cross-kingdom regulation and implications in host gene and gut microbiota modulation. Br J Pharmacol 2021; 178:2218-2245. [PMID: 33644849 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cross-kingdom communication via non-coding RNAs is a recent discovery. Exogenous microRNAs (exog-miRNAs) mainly enter the host via the diet. Generally considered unstable in the gastrointestinal tract, some exogenous RNAs may resist these conditions, especially if transported in extracellular vesicles. They could then reach the intestines and more probably exert a regulatory effect. We give an overview of recent discoveries concerning dietary miRNAs, possible ways of enhancing their resistance to food processing and gut conditions, their transport in extracellular vesicles (animal- and plant-origin) and possible biological effects on recipient cells after ingestion. We critically focus on what we believe are the most relevant data for future pharmacological development of dietary miRNAs as therapeutic agents. Finally, we discuss the miRNA-mediated cross-kingdom regulation between diet, host and the gut microbiota. We conclude that, despite many obstacles and challenges, extracellular miRNAs are serious candidates to be targeted pharmacologically for development of new therapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Del Pozo-Acebo
- Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies (IMDEA)-Food, Laboratory of Epigenetics of Lipid Metabolism, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Abelardo Margollés
- Institute of Dairy Products of Asturias (IPLA-CSIC), Villaviciosa, Spain.,Health Research Institute of Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
| | - Alberto Dávalos
- Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies (IMDEA)-Food, Laboratory of Epigenetics of Lipid Metabolism, Madrid, Spain
| | - Almudena García-Ruiz
- Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies (IMDEA)-Food, Laboratory of Epigenetics of Lipid Metabolism, Madrid, Spain.,Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, USA
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14
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Saldi T, Riemondy K, Erickson B, Bentley DL. Alternative RNA structures formed during transcription depend on elongation rate and modify RNA processing. Mol Cell 2021; 81:1789-1801.e5. [PMID: 33631106 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2021.01.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Most RNA processing occurs co-transcriptionally. We interrogated nascent pol II transcripts by chemical and enzymatic probing and determined how the "nascent RNA structureome" relates to splicing, A-I editing and transcription speed. RNA folding within introns and steep structural transitions at splice sites are associated with efficient co-transcriptional splicing. A slow pol II mutant elicits extensive remodeling into more folded conformations with increased A-I editing. Introns that become more structured at their 3' splice sites get co-transcriptionally excised more efficiently. Slow pol II altered folding of intronic Alu elements where cryptic splicing and intron retention are stimulated, an outcome mimicked by UV, which decelerates transcription. Slow transcription also remodeled RNA folding around alternative exons in distinct ways that predict whether skipping or inclusion is favored, even though it occurs post-transcriptionally. Hence, co-transcriptional RNA folding modulates post-transcriptional alternative splicing. In summary, the plasticity of nascent transcripts has widespread effects on RNA processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tassa Saldi
- RNA Bioscience Initiative, Department Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, PO Box 6511, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Kent Riemondy
- RNA Bioscience Initiative, Department Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, PO Box 6511, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Benjamin Erickson
- RNA Bioscience Initiative, Department Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, PO Box 6511, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - David L Bentley
- RNA Bioscience Initiative, Department Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, PO Box 6511, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
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15
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Basu S, Mallik S, Hait S, Kundu S. Genome-scale molecular principles of mRNA half-life regulation in yeast. FEBS J 2020; 288:3428-3447. [PMID: 33319437 DOI: 10.1111/febs.15670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2020] [Revised: 11/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Precise control of protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation is essential for cellular metabolism and homeostasis. Controlled and specific degradation of both molecular species necessitates their engagements with the respective degradation machineries; this engagement involves a disordered/unstructured segment of the substrate traversing the degradation tunnel of the machinery and accessing the catalytic sites. However, while molecular factors influencing protein degradation have been extensively explored on a genome scale, and in multiple organisms, such a comprehensive understanding remains missing for mRNAs. Here, we analyzed multiple genome-scale experimental yeast mRNA half-life data in light of experimentally derived mRNA secondary structures and protein binding data, along with high-resolution X-ray crystallographic structures of the RNase machines. Results unraveled a consistent genome-scale trend that mRNAs comprising longer terminal and/or internal unstructured segments have significantly shorter half-lives; the lengths of the 5'-terminal, 3'-terminal, and internal unstructured segments that affect mRNA half-life are compatible with molecular structures of the 5' exo-, 3' exo-, and endoribonuclease machineries. Sequestration into ribonucleoprotein complexes elongates mRNA half-life, presumably by burying ribonuclease engagement sites under oligomeric interfaces. After gene duplication, differences in terminal unstructured lengths, proportions of internal unstructured segments, and oligomerization modes result in significantly altered half-lives of paralogous mRNAs. Side-by-side comparison of molecular principles underlying controlled protein and mRNA degradation in yeast unravels their remarkable mechanistic similarities and suggests how the intrinsic structural features of the two molecular species, at two different levels of the central dogma, regulate their half-lives on genome scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sudipto Basu
- Department of Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India.,Center of Excellence in Systems Biology and Biomedical Engineering (TEQIP Phase-III), University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
| | - Saurav Mallik
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Suman Hait
- Department of Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
| | - Sudip Kundu
- Department of Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India.,Center of Excellence in Systems Biology and Biomedical Engineering (TEQIP Phase-III), University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
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16
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Urquidi-Camacho RA, Lokdarshi A, von Arnim AG. Translational gene regulation in plants: A green new deal. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. RNA 2020; 11:e1597. [PMID: 32367681 PMCID: PMC9258721 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The molecular machinery for protein synthesis is profoundly similar between plants and other eukaryotes. Mechanisms of translational gene regulation are embedded into the broader network of RNA-level processes including RNA quality control and RNA turnover. However, over eons of their separate history, plants acquired new components, dropped others, and generally evolved an alternate way of making the parts list of protein synthesis work. Research over the past 5 years has unveiled how plants utilize translational control to defend themselves against viruses, regulate translation in response to metabolites, and reversibly adjust translation to a wide variety of environmental parameters. Moreover, during seed and pollen development plants make use of RNA granules and other translational controls to underpin developmental transitions between quiescent and metabolically active stages. The economics of resource allocation over the daily light-dark cycle also include controls over cellular protein synthesis. Important new insights into translational control on cytosolic ribosomes continue to emerge from studies of translational control mechanisms in viruses. Finally, sketches of coherent signaling pathways that connect external stimuli with a translational response are emerging, anchored in part around TOR and GCN2 kinase signaling networks. These again reveal some mechanisms that are familiar and others that are different from other eukaryotes, motivating deeper studies on translational control in plants. This article is categorized under: Translation > Translation Regulation RNA Structure and Dynamics > Influence of RNA Structure in Biological Systems RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > Protein-RNA Interactions: Functional Implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo A. Urquidi-Camacho
- UT-ORNL Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996
| | - Ansul Lokdarshi
- Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996
| | - Albrecht G von Arnim
- Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology and UT-ORNL Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996
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17
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Ritchey LE, Tack DC, Yakhnin H, Jolley EA, Assmann SM, Bevilacqua PC, Babitzke P. Structure-seq2 probing of RNA structure upon amino acid starvation reveals both known and novel RNA switches in Bacillus subtilis. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2020; 26:1431-1447. [PMID: 32611709 PMCID: PMC7491331 DOI: 10.1261/rna.075986.120] [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: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
RNA structure influences numerous processes in all organisms. In bacteria, these processes include transcription termination and attenuation, small RNA and protein binding, translation initiation, and mRNA stability, and can be regulated via metabolite availability and other stresses. Here we use Structure-seq2 to probe the in vivo RNA structurome of Bacillus subtilis grown in the presence and absence of amino acids. Our results reveal that amino acid starvation results in lower overall dimethyl sulfate (DMS) reactivity of the transcriptome, indicating enhanced protection owing to protein binding or RNA structure. Starvation-induced changes in DMS reactivity correlated inversely with transcript abundance changes. This correlation was particularly pronounced in genes associated with the stringent response and CodY regulons, which are involved in adaptation to nutritional stress, suggesting that RNA structure contributes to transcript abundance change in regulons involved in amino acid metabolism. Structure-seq2 accurately reported on four known amino acid-responsive riboswitches: T-box, SAM, glycine, and lysine riboswitches. Additionally, we discovered a transcription attenuation mechanism that reduces yfmG expression when amino acids are added to the growth medium. We also found that translation of a leader peptide (YfmH) encoded just upstream of yfmG regulates yfmG expression. Our results are consistent with a model in which a slow rate of yfmH translation caused by limitation of the amino acids encoded in YfmH prevents transcription termination in the yfmG leader region by favoring formation of an overlapping antiterminator structure. This novel RNA switch offers a way to simultaneously monitor the levels of multiple amino acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Ritchey
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - David C Tack
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - Helen Yakhnin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
- Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Jolley
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
- Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - Sarah M Assmann
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - Philip C Bevilacqua
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
- Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - Paul Babitzke
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
- Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
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18
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Andrzejewska A, Zawadzka M, Pachulska-Wieczorek K. On the Way to Understanding the Interplay between the RNA Structure and Functions in Cells: A Genome-Wide Perspective. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E6770. [PMID: 32942713 PMCID: PMC7554983 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21186770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Revised: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
RNAs adopt specific structures in order to perform their biological activities. The structure of RNA is an important layer of gene expression regulation, and can impact a plethora of cellular processes, starting with transcription, RNA processing, and translation, and ending with RNA turnover. The development of high-throughput technologies has enabled a deeper insight into the sophisticated interplay between the structure of the cellular transcriptome and the living cells environment. In this review, we present the current view on the RNA structure in vivo resulting from the most recent transcriptome-wide studies in different organisms, including mammalians, yeast, plants, and bacteria. We focus on the relationship between the mRNA structure and translation, mRNA stability and degradation, protein binding, and RNA posttranscriptional modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Katarzyna Pachulska-Wieczorek
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Structure and Function of Retrotransposons, Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704 Poznan, Poland; (A.A.); (M.Z.)
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19
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Xu B, Meng Y, Jin Y. RNA structures in alternative splicing and back-splicing. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-RNA 2020; 12:e1626. [PMID: 32929887 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Alternative splicing greatly expands the transcriptomic and proteomic diversities related to physiological and developmental processes in higher eukaryotes. Splicing of long noncoding RNAs, and back- and trans- splicing further expanded the regulatory repertoire of alternative splicing. RNA structures were shown to play an important role in regulating alternative splicing and back-splicing. Application of novel sequencing technologies made it possible to identify genome-wide RNA structures and interaction networks, which might provide new insights into RNA splicing regulation in vitro to in vivo. The emerging transcription-folding-splicing paradigm is changing our understanding of RNA alternative splicing regulation. Here, we review the insights into the roles and mechanisms of RNA structures in alternative splicing and back-splicing, as well as how disruption of these structures affects alternative splicing and then leads to human diseases. This article is categorized under: RNA Processing > Splicing Regulation/Alternative Splicing RNA Structure and Dynamics > Influence of RNA Structure in Biological Systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingbing Xu
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection and Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yijun Meng
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Zhejiang, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yongfeng Jin
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection and Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, Hangzhou, China
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20
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Yang M, Woolfenden HC, Zhang Y, Fang X, Liu Q, Vigh ML, Cheema J, Yang X, Norris M, Yu S, Carbonell A, Brodersen P, Wang J, Ding Y. Intact RNA structurome reveals mRNA structure-mediated regulation of miRNA cleavage in vivo. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:8767-8781. [PMID: 32652041 PMCID: PMC7470952 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNA (miRNA)-mediated cleavage is involved in numerous essential cellular pathways. miRNAs recognize target RNAs via sequence complementarity. In addition to complementarity, in vitro and in silico studies have suggested that RNA structure may influence the accessibility of mRNAs to miRNA-induced silencing complexes (miRISCs), thereby affecting RNA silencing. However, the regulatory mechanism of mRNA structure in miRNA cleavage remains elusive. We investigated the role of in vivo RNA secondary structure in miRNA cleavage by developing the new CAP-STRUCTURE-seq method to capture the intact mRNA structurome in Arabidopsis thaliana. This approach revealed that miRNA target sites were not structurally accessible for miRISC binding prior to cleavage in vivo. Instead, we found that the unfolding of the target site structure plays a key role in miRISC activity in vivo. We found that the single-strandedness of the two nucleotides immediately downstream of the target site, named Target Adjacent nucleotide Motif, can promote miRNA cleavage but not miRNA binding, thus decoupling target site binding from cleavage. Our findings demonstrate that mRNA structure in vivo can modulate miRNA cleavage, providing evidence of mRNA structure-dependent regulation of biological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minglei Yang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Hugh C Woolfenden
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Yueying Zhang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Xiaofeng Fang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Qi Liu
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Maria L Vigh
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, DK-2200, Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Jitender Cheema
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Xiaofei Yang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Matthew Norris
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Sha Yu
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics (NKLPMG), CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), Shanghai 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Alberto Carbonell
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Politécnica de Valencia), Valencia, 46022, Spain
| | - Peter Brodersen
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, DK-2200, Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Jiawei Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics (NKLPMG), CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), Shanghai 200032, People's Republic of China
- ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 200031, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yiliang Ding
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
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21
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22
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Wang SE, Brooks AES, Poole AM, Simoes-Barbosa A. Determinants of translation efficiency in the evolutionarily-divergent protist Trichomonas vaginalis. BMC Mol Cell Biol 2020; 21:54. [PMID: 32689943 PMCID: PMC7370421 DOI: 10.1186/s12860-020-00297-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trichomonas vaginalis, the causative agent of a prevalent urogenital infection in humans, is an evolutionarily divergent protozoan. Protein-coding genes in T. vaginalis are largely controlled by two core promoter elements, producing mRNAs with short 5' UTRs. The specific mechanisms adopted by T. vaginalis to fine-tune the translation efficiency (TE) of mRNAs remain largely unknown. RESULTS Using both computational and experimental approaches, this study investigated two key factors influencing TE in T. vaginalis: codon usage and mRNA secondary structure. Statistical dependence between TE and codon adaptation index (CAI) highlighted the impact of codon usage on mRNA translation in T. vaginalis. A genome-wide interrogation revealed that low structural complexity at the 5' end of mRNA followed closely by a highly structured downstream region correlates with TE variation in this organism. To validate these findings, a synthetic library of 15 synonymous iLOV genes was created, representing five mRNA folding profiles and three codon usage profiles. Fluorescence signals produced by the expression of these synonymous iLOV genes in T. vaginalis were consistent with and validated our in silico predictions. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates the role of codon usage bias and mRNA secondary structure in TE of T. vaginalis mRNAs, contributing to a better understanding of the factors that influence, and possibly regulate, gene expression in this human pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuqi E Wang
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Anna E S Brooks
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Maurice Wilkins Centre, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Anthony M Poole
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Bioinformatics Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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23
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Kramer MC, Janssen KA, Palos K, Nelson ADL, Vandivier LE, Garcia BA, Lyons E, Beilstein MA, Gregory BD. N 6-methyladenosine and RNA secondary structure affect transcript stability and protein abundance during systemic salt stress in Arabidopsis. PLANT DIRECT 2020; 4:e00239. [PMID: 32724893 PMCID: PMC7379018 DOI: 10.1002/pld3.239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
After transcription, a messenger RNA (mRNA) is further post-transcriptionally regulated by several features including RNA secondary structure and covalent RNA modifications (specifically N6-methyladenosine, m6A). Both RNA secondary structure and m6A have been demonstrated to regulate mRNA stability and translation and have been independently linked to plant responses to soil salinity levels. However, the effect of m6A on regulating RNA secondary structure and the combinatorial interplay between these two RNA features during salt stress response has yet to be studied. Here, we globally identify RNA-protein interactions and RNA secondary structure during systemic salt stress. This analysis reveals that RNA secondary structure changes significantly during salt stress, and that it is independent of global changes in RNA-protein interactions. Conversely, we find that m6A is anti-correlated with RNA secondary structure in a condition-dependent manner, with salt-specific m6A correlated with a decrease in mRNA secondary structure during salt stress. Taken together, we suggest that salt-specific m6A deposition and the associated loss of RNA secondary structure results in increases in mRNA stability for transcripts encoding abiotic stress response proteins and ultimately increases in protein levels from these stabilized transcripts. In total, our comprehensive analyses reveal important post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms involved in plant long-term salt stress response and adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne C. Kramer
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
- Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate GroupPerelman School of MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
| | - Kevin A. Janssen
- Department of Biochemistry and BiophysicsPerelman School of MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
- Epigenetics InstitutePerelman School of MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Graduate GroupUniversity of PennsylvaniaPAUSA
| | - Kyle Palos
- School of Plant SciencesUniversity of ArizonaTucsonAZUSA
| | | | - Lee E. Vandivier
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
- Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate GroupPerelman School of MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
| | - Benjamin A. Garcia
- Department of Biochemistry and BiophysicsPerelman School of MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
- Epigenetics InstitutePerelman School of MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
| | - Eric Lyons
- School of Plant SciencesUniversity of ArizonaTucsonAZUSA
- CyVerseUniversity of ArizonaTucsonAZUSA
| | | | - Brian D. Gregory
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
- Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate GroupPerelman School of MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
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24
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Kuksa PP, Li F, Kannan S, Gregory BD, Leung YY, Wang LS. HiPR: High-throughput probabilistic RNA structure inference. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2020; 18:1539-1547. [PMID: 32637050 PMCID: PMC7327253 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2020.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent high-throughput structure-sensitive genome-wide sequencing-based assays have enabled large-scale studies of RNA structure, and robust transcriptome-wide computational prediction of individual RNA structures across RNA classes from these assays has potential to further improve the prediction accuracy. Here, we describe HiPR, a novel method for RNA structure prediction at single-nucleotide resolution that combines high-throughput structure probing data (DMS-seq, DMS-MaPseq) with a novel probabilistic folding algorithm. On validation data spanning a variety of RNA classes, HiPR often increases accuracy for predicting RNA structures, giving researchers new tools to study RNA structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel P. Kuksa
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Fan Li
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
| | - Sampath Kannan
- Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Brian D. Gregory
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Yuk Yee Leung
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Li-San Wang
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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25
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Kim B, Kim HM, Kang MK, Sohn DH, Han SJ. 5'-UTR and ORF elements, as well as the 3'-UTR regulate the translation of Cyclin. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2020; 527:968-973. [PMID: 32439164 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.04.151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian oocyte maturation is wholly dependent on the translation of accumulated maternal transcripts. Therefore, measuring the translation of specific genes, especially Ccnb1 and Ccnb2, which are key regulators of the oocyte cell cycle in mice, is essential to monitor oocyte cell cycle progression. For this purpose, almost all previous research has used a reporter construct containing the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of Ccnb. It is based on the concept that the 3'-UTR is the main modulator of translation. Here, we investigated the expression pattern of Renilla luciferase (RL) reporters combining the 5'-UTR and/or open reading frame (ORF) as well as the 3'-UTR (RL-3', 5'-RL-3', RL-ORF-3', and 5'-RL-ORF-3') of Ccnb1 and Ccnb2 in somatic cells and mouse oocytes. The addition of the 5'-UTR and/or ORF of Ccnb altered the expression of the RL-3' reporter in HEK293T cells and mouse oocytes. The ORF tended to suppress RL expression, whereas the 5'-UTR enhanced the expression in most cases. The increased rate in expression was the highest when only the 3'-UTR of Ccnb1 (RL-3') was used, whereas the 5'-RL-ORF-3' reporter showed a relatively lower increase during oocyte maturation. For Ccnb2, the RL-ORF-3' reporter showed the largest increase, and other reporters exhibited a similar increase in expression during oocyte maturation. Results show that the expression of these genes is modulated not only by the 3'-UTR but also by the 5'-UTR and ORF. Therefore, special caution should be taken when using only the 3'-UTR to monitor the expression of specific genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boram Kim
- Department of Biological Science, Inje University, 197 Inje-ro, Gimhae, Gyeongnam, 50834, Republic of Korea
| | - Hye Min Kim
- Department of Biological Science, Inje University, 197 Inje-ro, Gimhae, Gyeongnam, 50834, Republic of Korea; Institute of Digital Anti-Aging Healthcare, Inje University, 197 Inje-ro, Gimhae, Gyeongnam, 50834, Republic of Korea
| | - Min Kook Kang
- Department of Biological Science, Inje University, 197 Inje-ro, Gimhae, Gyeongnam, 50834, Republic of Korea; Department of Research Center, Dong Nam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, 40 Jwadong-gil, Gijang-gun, Busan, 46033, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Hyun Sohn
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Gyeongnam, 50612, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung Jin Han
- Department of Biological Science, Inje University, 197 Inje-ro, Gimhae, Gyeongnam, 50834, Republic of Korea; Institute of Digital Anti-Aging Healthcare, Inje University, 197 Inje-ro, Gimhae, Gyeongnam, 50834, Republic of Korea; Department of Biotechnology, Inje University, 197 Inje-ro, Gimhae, Gyeongnam, 50834, Republic of Korea; Institute of Basic Science, Inje University, 197 Inje-ro, Gimhae, Gyeongnam, 50834, Republic of Korea.
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26
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Tack DC, Su Z, Yu Y, Bevilacqua PC, Assmann SM. Tissue-specific changes in the RNA structurome mediate salinity response in Arabidopsis. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2020; 26:492-511. [PMID: 31937672 PMCID: PMC7075263 DOI: 10.1261/rna.072850.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Little is known concerning the effects of abiotic factors on in vivo RNA structures. We applied Structure-seq to assess the in vivo mRNA structuromes of Arabidopsis thaliana under salinity stress, which negatively impacts agriculture. Structure-seq utilizes dimethyl sulfate reactivity to identify As and Cs that lack base-pairing or protection. Salt stress refolded transcripts differentially in root versus shoot, evincing tissue specificity of the structurome. Both tissues exhibited an inverse correlation between salt stress-induced changes in transcript reactivity and changes in abundance, with stress-related mRNAs showing particular structural dynamism. This inverse correlation is more pronounced in mRNAs wherein the mean reactivity of the 5'UTR, CDS, and 3'UTR concertedly change under salinity stress, suggesting increased susceptibility to abundance control mechanisms in transcripts exhibiting this phenomenon, which we name "concordancy." Concordant salinity-induced increases in reactivity were notably observed in photosynthesis genes, thereby implicating mRNA structural loss in the well-known depression of photosynthesis by salt stress. Overall, changes in secondary structure appear to impact mRNA abundance, molding the functional specificity of the transcriptome under stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Tack
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
- Spectrum Health Office of Research, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, USA
| | - Zhao Su
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - Yunqing Yu
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - Philip C Bevilacqua
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
- Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - Sarah M Assmann
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
- Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
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27
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Li X, Liang QX, Lin JR, Peng J, Yang JH, Yi C, Yu Y, Zhang QC, Zhou KR. Epitranscriptomic technologies and analyses. SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES 2020; 63:501-515. [DOI: 10.1007/s11427-019-1658-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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28
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Bai B, van der Horst S, Cordewener JHG, America TAHP, Hanson J, Bentsink L. Seed-Stored mRNAs that Are Specifically Associated to Monosomes Are Translationally Regulated during Germination. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 182:378-392. [PMID: 31527088 PMCID: PMC6945870 DOI: 10.1104/pp.19.00644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 09/01/2019] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The life cycle of many organisms includes a quiescent stage, such as bacterial or fungal spores, insect larvae, or plant seeds. Common to these stages is their low water content and high survivability during harsh conditions. Upon rehydration, organisms need to reactivate metabolism and protein synthesis. Plant seeds contain many mRNAs that are transcribed during seed development. Translation of these mRNAs occurs during early seed germination, even before the requirement of transcription. Therefore, stored mRNAs are postulated to be important for germination. How these mRNAs are stored and protected during long-term storage is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate how mRNAs are stored in dry seeds and whether they are indeed translated during seed germination. We investigated seed polysome profiles and the mRNAs and protein complexes that are associated with these ribosomes in seeds of the model organism Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). We showed that most stored mRNAs are associated with monosomes in dry seeds; therefore, we focus on monosomes in this study. Seed ribosome complexes are associated with mRNA-binding proteins, stress granule, and P-body proteins, which suggests regulated packing of seed mRNAs. Interestingly, ∼17% of the mRNAs that are specifically associated with monosomes are translationally up-regulated during seed germination. These mRNAs are transcribed during seed maturation, suggesting a role for this developmental stage in determining the translational fate of mRNAs during early germination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Bai
- Wageningen Seed Laboratory, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Umeå Plant Science Center, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Sjors van der Horst
- Department of Molecular Plant Physiology, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jan H G Cordewener
- BU Bioscience, Plant Research International, 6700 AP Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Centre for BioSystems Genomics, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Proteomics Centre, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Twan A H P America
- BU Bioscience, Plant Research International, 6700 AP Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Centre for BioSystems Genomics, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Proteomics Centre, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Johannes Hanson
- Umeå Plant Science Center, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Leónie Bentsink
- Wageningen Seed Laboratory, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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29
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Bartys N, Kierzek R, Lisowiec-Wachnicka J. The regulation properties of RNA secondary structure in alternative splicing. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS 2019; 1862:194401. [PMID: 31323437 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2019.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The RNA secondary structure is important for many functional processes in the cell. The secondary and tertiary structures of cellular RNAs are essential for the activity of these molecules in processes such as transcription, splicing, translation, and localization. New high-throughput analytical methods, including next generation sequencing, have allowed for the in-depth characterization of the 'RNA structurome': a new term describing how the RNA structure controls the activity of RNA by itself and how it regulates the expression of genes. In this review, we present many examples of the influence of structural motifs of RNA, long range interactions and global RNA structure on the alternative splicing processes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: RNA structure and splicing regulation edited by Francisco Baralle, Ravindra Singh and Stefan Stamm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Bartys
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Z. Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704 Poznań, Poland
| | - Ryszard Kierzek
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Z. Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704 Poznań, Poland
| | - Jolanta Lisowiec-Wachnicka
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Z. Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704 Poznań, Poland.
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30
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Li J, Liu C. Coding or Noncoding, the Converging Concepts of RNAs. Front Genet 2019; 10:496. [PMID: 31178900 PMCID: PMC6538810 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Technological advances over the past decade have unraveled the remarkable complexity of RNA. The identification of small peptides encoded by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) as well as regulatory functions mediated by non-coding regions of mRNAs have further complicated our understanding of the multifaceted functions of RNA. In this review, we summarize current evidence pointing to dual roles of RNA molecules defined by their coding and non-coding potentials. We also discuss how the emerging roles of RNA transform our understanding of gene expression and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Plant Resource and Sustainable Use, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Changning Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Plant Resource and Sustainable Use, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
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31
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Kiening M, Ochsenreiter R, Hellinger HJ, Rattei T, Hofacker I, Frishman D. Conserved Secondary Structures in Viral mRNAs. Viruses 2019; 11:E401. [PMID: 31035717 PMCID: PMC6563262 DOI: 10.3390/v11050401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2019] [Revised: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA secondary structure in untranslated and protein coding regions has been shown to play an important role in regulatory processes and the viral replication cycle. While structures in non-coding regions have been investigated extensively, a thorough overview of the structural repertoire of protein coding mRNAs, especially for viruses, is lacking. Secondary structure prediction of large molecules, such as long mRNAs remains a challenging task, as the contingent of structures a sequence can theoretically fold into grows exponentially with sequence length. We applied a structure prediction pipeline to Viral Orthologous Groups that first identifies the local boundaries of potentially structured regions and subsequently predicts their functional importance. Using this procedure, the orthologous groups were split into structurally homogenous subgroups, which we call subVOGs. This is the first compilation of potentially functional conserved RNA structures in viral coding regions, covering the complete RefSeq viral database. We were able to recover structural elements from previous studies and discovered a variety of novel structured regions. The subVOGs are available through our web resource RNASIV (RNA structure in viruses; http://rnasiv.bio.wzw.tum.de).
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kiening
- Department of Bioinformatics, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Maximus-von-Imhof-Forum 3, D-85354 Freising, Germany.
| | - Roman Ochsenreiter
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Computer Science, Research Group Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Währingerstr. 29, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Hans-Jörg Hellinger
- Division of Computational Systems Biology, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Thomas Rattei
- Division of Computational Systems Biology, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Ivo Hofacker
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Computer Science, Research Group Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Währingerstr. 29, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Währingerstrasse 17, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Dmitrij Frishman
- Department of Bioinformatics, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Maximus-von-Imhof-Forum 3, D-85354 Freising, Germany.
- St Petersburg State Polytechnic University, St Petersburg 195251, Russia.
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32
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Argueso CT, Assmann SM, Birnbaum KD, Chen S, Dinneny JR, Doherty CJ, Eveland AL, Friesner J, Greenlee VR, Law JA, Marshall‐Colón A, Mason GA, O'Lexy R, Peck SC, Schmitz RJ, Song L, Stern D, Varagona MJ, Walley JW, Williams CM. Directions for research and training in plant omics: Big Questions and Big Data. PLANT DIRECT 2019; 3:e00133. [PMID: 31245771 PMCID: PMC6589541 DOI: 10.1002/pld3.133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
A key remit of the NSF-funded "Arabidopsis Research and Training for the 21st Century" (ART-21) Research Coordination Network has been to convene a series of workshops with community members to explore issues concerning research and training in plant biology, including the role that research using Arabidopsis thaliana can play in addressing those issues. A first workshop focused on training needs for bioinformatic and computational approaches in plant biology was held in 2016, and recommendations from that workshop have been published (Friesner et al., Plant Physiology, 175, 2017, 1499). In this white paper, we provide a summary of the discussions and insights arising from the second ART-21 workshop. The second workshop focused on experimental aspects of omics data acquisition and analysis and involved a broad spectrum of participants from academics and industry, ranging from graduate students through post-doctorates, early career and established investigators. Our hope is that this article will inspire beginning and established scientists, corporations, and funding agencies to pursue directions in research and training identified by this workshop, capitalizing on the reference species Arabidopsis thaliana and other valuable plant systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristiana T. Argueso
- Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest ManagementColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColorado
| | - Sarah M. Assmann
- Biology DepartmentPenn State UniversityUniversity ParkPennsylvania
| | - Kenneth D. Birnbaum
- Department of BiologyCenter for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew York
| | - Sixue Chen
- Department of BiologyGenetics InstitutePlant Molecular and Cellular Biology ProgramUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFlorida
- Proteomics and Mass SpectrometryInterdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology ResearchUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFlorida
| | | | - Colleen J. Doherty
- Department of Molecular and Structural BiochemistryNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleighNorth Carolina
| | | | | | - Vanessa R. Greenlee
- International ProgramsCollege of Agriculture and Life SciencesCornell UniversityIthacaNew York
| | - Julie A. Law
- Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology LaboratorySalk Institute for Biological StudiesLa JollaCalifornia
- Division of Biological SciencesUniversity of California, San DiegoLa JollaCalifornia
| | - Amy Marshall‐Colón
- Department of Plant BiologyUniversity of Illinois Urbana‐ChampaignUrbanaIllinois
| | - Grace Alex Mason
- Department of Plant Biology and Genome CenterUC DavisDavisCalifornia
| | - Ruby O'Lexy
- Coriell Institute for Medical ResearchCamdenNew Jersey
| | - Scott C. Peck
- Division of BiochemistryChristopher S. Bond Life Sciences CenterInterdisciplinary Plant GroupUniversity of MissouriColumbiaMissouri
| | | | - Liang Song
- Department of BotanyThe University of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | | | | | - Justin W. Walley
- Department of Plant Pathology and MicrobiologyIowa State UniversityAmesIowa
| | - Cranos M. Williams
- Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleighNorth Carolina
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33
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Lloyd JP, Tsai ZTY, Sowers RP, Panchy NL, Shiu SH. A Model-Based Approach for Identifying Functional Intergenic Transcribed Regions and Noncoding RNAs. Mol Biol Evol 2019; 35:1422-1436. [PMID: 29554332 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msy035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
With advances in transcript profiling, the presence of transcriptional activities in intergenic regions has been well established. However, whether intergenic expression reflects transcriptional noise or activity of novel genes remains unclear. We identified intergenic transcribed regions (ITRs) in 15 diverse flowering plant species and found that the amount of intergenic expression correlates with genome size, a pattern that could be expected if intergenic expression is largely nonfunctional. To further assess the functionality of ITRs, we first built machine learning models using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model that accurately distinguish functional sequences (benchmark protein-coding and RNA genes) and likely nonfunctional ones (pseudogenes and unexpressed intergenic regions) by integrating 93 biochemical, evolutionary, and sequence-structure features. Next, by applying the models genome-wide, we found that 4,427 ITRs (38%) and 796 annotated ncRNAs (44%) had features significantly similar to benchmark protein-coding or RNA genes and thus were likely parts of functional genes. Approximately 60% of ITRs and ncRNAs were more similar to nonfunctional sequences and were likely transcriptional noise. The predictive framework established here provides not only a comprehensive look at how functional, genic sequences are distinct from likely nonfunctional ones, but also a new way to differentiate novel genes from genomic regions with noisy transcriptional activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- John P Lloyd
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
| | - Zing Tsung-Yeh Tsai
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Rosalie P Sowers
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
| | | | - Shin-Han Shiu
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.,Genetics Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.,Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
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34
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Alexandre CM, Urton JR, Jean-Baptiste K, Huddleston J, Dorrity MW, Cuperus JT, Sullivan AM, Bemm F, Jolic D, Arsovski AA, Thompson A, Nemhauser JL, Fields S, Weigel D, Bubb KL, Queitsch C. Complex Relationships between Chromatin Accessibility, Sequence Divergence, and Gene Expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. Mol Biol Evol 2019; 35:837-854. [PMID: 29272536 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msx326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Variation in regulatory DNA is thought to drive phenotypic variation, evolution, and disease. Prior studies of regulatory DNA and transcription factors across animal species highlighted a fundamental conundrum: Transcription factor binding domains and cognate binding sites are conserved, while regulatory DNA sequences are not. It remains unclear how conserved transcription factors and dynamic regulatory sites produce conserved expression patterns across species. Here, we explore regulatory DNA variation and its functional consequences within Arabidopsis thaliana, using chromatin accessibility to delineate regulatory DNA genome-wide. Unlike in previous cross-species comparisons, the positional homology of regulatory DNA is maintained among A. thaliana ecotypes and less nucleotide divergence has occurred. Of the ∼50,000 regulatory sites in A. thaliana, we found that 15% varied in accessibility among ecotypes. Some of these accessibility differences were associated with extensive, previously unannotated sequence variation, encompassing many deletions and ancient hypervariable alleles. Unexpectedly, for the majority of such regulatory sites, nearby gene expression was unaffected. Nevertheless, regulatory sites with high levels of sequence variation and differential chromatin accessibility were the most likely to be associated with differential gene expression. Finally, and most surprising, we found that the vast majority of differentially accessible sites show no underlying sequence variation. We argue that these surprising results highlight the necessity to consider higher-order regulatory context in evaluating regulatory variation and predicting its phenotypic consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James R Urton
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Ken Jean-Baptiste
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - John Huddleston
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.,Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Michael W Dorrity
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Josh T Cuperus
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | | | - Felix Bemm
- Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dino Jolic
- Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Stan Fields
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Detlef Weigel
- Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Kerry L Bubb
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Christin Queitsch
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
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35
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Sieburth LE, Vincent JN. Beyond transcription factors: roles of mRNA decay in regulating gene expression in plants. F1000Res 2018; 7. [PMID: 30613385 PMCID: PMC6305221 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.16203.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene expression is typically quantified as RNA abundance, which is influenced by both synthesis (transcription) and decay. Cytoplasmic decay typically initiates by deadenylation, after which decay can occur through any of three cytoplasmic decay pathways. Recent advances reveal several mechanisms by which RNA decay is regulated to control RNA abundance. mRNA can be post-transcriptionally modified, either indirectly through secondary structure or through direct modifications to the transcript itself, sometimes resulting in subsequent changes in mRNA decay rates. mRNA abundances can also be modified by tapping into pathways normally used for RNA quality control. Regulated mRNA decay can also come about through post-translational modification of decapping complex subunits. Likewise, mRNAs can undergo changes in subcellular localization (for example, the deposition of specific mRNAs into processing bodies, or P-bodies, where stabilization and destabilization occur in a transcript- and context-dependent manner). Additionally, specialized functions of mRNA decay pathways were implicated in a genome-wide mRNA decay analysis in Arabidopsis. Advances made using plants are emphasized in this review, but relevant studies from other model systems that highlight RNA decay mechanisms that may also be conserved in plants are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie E Sieburth
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Jessica N Vincent
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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36
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Qian X, Zhao J, Yeung PY, Zhang QC, Kwok CK. Revealing lncRNA Structures and Interactions by Sequencing-Based Approaches. Trends Biochem Sci 2018; 44:33-52. [PMID: 30459069 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2018.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 297] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as significant players in almost every level of gene function and regulation. Thus, characterizing the structures and interactions of lncRNAs is essential for understanding their mechanistic roles in cells. Through a combination of (bio)chemical approaches and automated capillary and high-throughput sequencing (HTS), the complexity and diversity of RNA structures and interactions has been revealed in the transcriptomes of multiple species. These methods have uncovered important biological insights into the mechanistic and functional roles of lncRNA in gene expression and RNA metabolism, as well as in development and disease. In this review, we summarize the latest sequencing strategies to reveal RNA structure, RNA-RNA, RNA-DNA, and RNA-protein interactions, and highlight the recent applications of these approaches to map functional lncRNAs. We discuss the advantages and limitations of these strategies, and provide recommendations to further advance methodologies capable of mapping RNA structure and interactions in order to discover new biology of lncRNAs and decipher their molecular mechanisms and implication in diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingyang Qian
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Jieyu Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Pui Yan Yeung
- Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Qiangfeng Cliff Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
| | - Chun Kit Kwok
- Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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May JP, Yuan X, Sawicki E, Simon AE. RNA virus evasion of nonsense-mediated decay. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007459. [PMID: 30452463 PMCID: PMC6277124 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2018] [Revised: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) is a host RNA control pathway that removes aberrant transcripts with long 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) due to premature termination codons (PTCs) that arise through mutation or defective splicing. To maximize coding potential, RNA viruses often contain internally located stop codons that should also be prime targets for NMD. Using an agroinfiltration-based NMD assay in Nicotiana benthamiana, we identified two segments conferring NMD-resistance in the carmovirus Turnip crinkle virus (TCV) genome. The ribosome readthrough structure just downstream of the TCV p28 termination codon stabilized an NMD-sensitive reporter as did a frameshifting element from umbravirus Pea enation mosaic virus. In addition, a 51-nt unstructured region (USR) at the beginning of the TCV 3' UTR increased NMD-resistance 3-fold when inserted into an unrelated NMD-sensitive 3' UTR. Several additional carmovirus 3' UTRs also conferred varying levels of NMD resistance depending on the construct despite no sequence similarity in the analogous region. Instead, these regions displayed a marked lack of RNA structure immediately following the NMD-targeted stop codon. NMD-resistance was only slightly reduced by conversion of 19 pyrimidines in the USR to purines, but resistance was abolished when a 2-nt mutation was introduced downstream of the USR that substantially increased the secondary structure in the USR through formation of a stable hairpin. The same 2-nt mutation also enhanced the NMD susceptibility of a subgenomic RNA expressed independently of the genomic RNA. The conserved lack of RNA structure among most carmoviruses at the 5' end of their 3' UTR could serve to enhance subgenomic RNA stability, which would increase expression of the encoded capsid protein that also functions as the RNA silencing suppressor. These results demonstrate that the TCV genome has features that are inherently NMD-resistant and these strategies could be widespread among RNA viruses and NMD-resistant host mRNAs with long 3' UTRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared P. May
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland–College Park, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Xuefeng Yuan
- College of Plant Protection, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, Shandong Province, P.R.China
| | - Erika Sawicki
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland–College Park, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Anne E. Simon
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland–College Park, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
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Li Z, Xu R, Li N. MicroRNAs from plants to animals, do they define a new messenger for communication? Nutr Metab (Lond) 2018; 15:68. [PMID: 30302122 PMCID: PMC6167836 DOI: 10.1186/s12986-018-0305-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of single-stranded non-coding RNA of about 22 nucleotides, are potent regulators of gene expression existing in both plants and animals. Recent studies showed that plant miRNAs could enter mammalian bloodstream via gastrointestinal tract, through which access a variety of tissues and cells of recipients to exert therapeutic effects. This intriguing phenomenon indicates that miRNAs of diet/plant origin may act as a new class of bioactive ingredients communicating with mammalian systems. In this review, in order to pinpoint the reason underlying discrepancies of miRNAs transmission from diet/plant to animals, the pathways that generate miRNAs and machineries involved in the functions of miRNAs in both kingdoms were outlined and compared. Then, the current controversies concerning cross-kingdom regulations and the potential mechanisms responsible for absorption and transfer of diet/plant-derived miRNAs were interpreted. Furthermore, the hormone-like action of miRNAs and the intricate interplay between miRNAs and hormones were implicated. Finally, how these findings may impact nutrition and medicine were briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqing Li
- 1State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100005 People's Republic of China
| | - Ruodan Xu
- 2Institute of Basic Theory for Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700 People's Republic of China.,3Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Ning Li
- 2Institute of Basic Theory for Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700 People's Republic of China
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39
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Beaudoin JD, Novoa EM, Vejnar CE, Yartseva V, Takacs CM, Kellis M, Giraldez AJ. Analyses of mRNA structure dynamics identify embryonic gene regulatory programs. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2018; 25:677-686. [PMID: 30061596 PMCID: PMC6690192 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-018-0091-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
RNA folding plays a crucial role in RNA function. However, knowledge of the global structure of the transcriptome is limited to cellular systems at steady state, thus hindering the understanding of RNA structure dynamics during biological transitions and how it influences gene function. Here, we characterized mRNA structure dynamics during zebrafish development. We observed that on a global level, translation guides structure rather than structure guiding translation. We detected a decrease in structure in translated regions and identified the ribosome as a major remodeler of RNA structure in vivo. In contrast, we found that 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) form highly folded structures in vivo, which can affect gene expression by modulating microRNA activity. Furthermore, dynamic 3'-UTR structures contain RNA-decay elements, such as the regulatory elements in nanog and ccna1, two genes encoding key maternal factors orchestrating the maternal-to-zygotic transition. These results reveal a central role of RNA structure dynamics in gene regulatory programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Denis Beaudoin
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Eva Maria Novoa
- Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Charles E Vejnar
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Valeria Yartseva
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Carter M Takacs
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- College of Arts and Sciences, University of New Haven, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Manolis Kellis
- Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Antonio J Giraldez
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Yale Stem Cell Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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41
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Abrahams L, Hurst LD. Adenine Enrichment at the Fourth CDS Residue in Bacterial Genes Is Consistent with Error Proofing for +1 Frameshifts. Mol Biol Evol 2018; 34:3064-3080. [PMID: 28961919 PMCID: PMC5850271 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msx223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Beyond selection for optimal protein functioning, coding sequences (CDSs) are under selection at the RNA and DNA levels. Here, we identify a possible signature of “dual-coding,” namely extensive adenine (A) enrichment at bacterial CDS fourth sites. In 99.07% of studied bacterial genomes, fourth site A use is greater than expected given genomic A-starting codon use. Arguing for nucleotide level selection, A-starting serine and arginine second codons are heavily utilized when compared with their non-A starting synonyms. Several models have the ability to explain some of this trend. In part, A-enrichment likely reduces 5′ mRNA stability, promoting translation initiation. However T/U, which may also reduce stability, is avoided. Further, +1 frameshifts on the initiating ATG encode a stop codon (TGA) provided A is the fourth residue, acting either as a frameshift “catch and destroy” or a frameshift stop and adjust mechanism and hence implicated in translation initiation. Consistent with both, genomes lacking TGA stop codons exhibit weaker fourth site A-enrichment. Sequences lacking a Shine–Dalgarno sequence and those without upstream leader genes, that may be more error prone during initiation, have greater utilization of A, again suggesting a role in initiation. The frameshift correction model is consistent with the notion that many genomic features are error-mitigation factors and provides the first evidence for site-specific out of frame stop codon selection. We conjecture that the NTG universal start codon may have evolved as a consequence of TGA being a stop codon and the ability of NTGA to rapidly terminate or adjust a ribosome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam Abrahams
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, The Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Laurence D Hurst
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, The Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
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42
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James AB, Sullivan S, Nimmo HG. Global spatial analysis of Arabidopsis natural variants implicates 5'UTR splicing of LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL in responses to temperature. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2018; 41. [PMID: 29520807 PMCID: PMC6033021 DOI: 10.1111/pce.13188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
How plants perceive and respond to temperature remains an important question in the plant sciences. Temperature perception and signal transduction may occur through temperature-sensitive intramolecular folding of primary mRNA transcripts. Recent studies suggested a role for retention of the first intron in the 5'UTR of the clock component LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) in response to changes in temperature. Here, we identified a set of haplotypes in the LHY 5'UTR, examined their global spatial distribution, and obtained evidence that haplotype can affect temperature-dependent splicing of LHY transcripts. Correlations of haplotype spatial distributions with global bioclimatic variables and altitude point to associations with annual mean temperature and temperature fluctuation. Relatively rare relict type accessions correlate with lower mean temperature and greater temperature fluctuation and the spatial distribution of other haplotypes may be informative of evolutionary processes driving colonization of ecosystems. We propose that haplotypes may possess distinct 5'UTR pre-mRNA folding thermodynamics and/or specific biological stabilities based around the binding of trans-acting RNA splicing factors, a consequence of which is scalable splicing sensitivity of a central clock component that is likely tuned to specific temperature environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allan B. James
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life SciencesUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowG12 8QQUK
| | - Stuart Sullivan
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life SciencesUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowG12 8QQUK
| | - Hugh G. Nimmo
- Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life SciencesUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowG12 8QQUK
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43
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Yang X, Yang M, Deng H, Ding Y. New Era of Studying RNA Secondary Structure and Its Influence on Gene Regulation in Plants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2018; 9:671. [PMID: 29872445 PMCID: PMC5972288 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2018] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The dynamic structure of RNA plays a central role in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression such as RNA maturation, degradation, and translation. With the rise of next-generation sequencing, the study of RNA structure has been transformed from in vitro low-throughput RNA structure probing methods to in vivo high-throughput RNA structure profiling. The development of these methods enables incremental studies on the function of RNA structure to be performed, revealing new insights of novel regulatory mechanisms of RNA structure in plants. Genome-wide scale RNA structure profiling allows us to investigate general RNA structural features over 10s of 1000s of mRNAs and to compare RNA structuromes between plant species. Here, we provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of: (i) RNA structure probing methods; (ii) the biological functions of RNA structure; (iii) genome-wide RNA structural features corresponding to their regulatory mechanisms; and (iv) RNA structurome evolution in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofei Yang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Minglei Yang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Hongjing Deng
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yiliang Ding
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
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44
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Deng H, Cheema J, Zhang H, Woolfenden H, Norris M, Liu Z, Liu Q, Yang X, Yang M, Deng X, Cao X, Ding Y. Rice In Vivo RNA Structurome Reveals RNA Secondary Structure Conservation and Divergence in Plants. MOLECULAR PLANT 2018; 11:607-622. [PMID: 29409859 PMCID: PMC5886760 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2018.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Revised: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/25/2018] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
RNA secondary structure plays a critical role in gene regulation. Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the most important food crops in the world. However, RNA structure in rice has scarcely been studied. Here, we have successfully generated in vivo Structure-seq libraries in rice. We found that the structural flexibility of mRNAs might associate with the dynamics of biological function. Higher N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification tends to have less RNA structure in 3' UTR, whereas GC content does not significantly affect in vivo mRNA structure to maintain efficient biological processes such as translation. Comparative analysis of RNA structurome between rice and Arabidopsis revealed that higher GC content does not lead to stronger structure and less RNA structural flexibility. Moreover, we found a weak correlation between sequence and structure conservation of the orthologs between rice and Arabidopsis. The conservation and divergence of both sequence and in vivo RNA structure corresponds to diverse and specific biological processes. Our results indicate that RNA secondary structure might offer a separate layer of selection to the sequence between monocot and dicot. Therefore, our study implies that RNA structure evolves differently in various biological processes to maintain robustness in development and adaptational flexibility during angiosperm evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongjing Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China; CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Jitender Cheema
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Hang Zhang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Hugh Woolfenden
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Matthew Norris
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Zhenshan Liu
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Qi Liu
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Xiaofei Yang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Minglei Yang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Xian Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Xiaofeng Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
| | - Yiliang Ding
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
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45
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Li Q, Ahsan MA, Chen H, Xue J, Chen M. Discovering Putative Peptides Encoded from Noncoding RNAs in Ribosome Profiling Data of Arabidopsis thaliana. ACS Synth Biol 2018; 7:655-663. [PMID: 29376339 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.7b00386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Most noncoding RNAs are considered by their expression at low levels and as having a limited phylogenetic distribution in the cytoplasm, indicating that they may be only involved in specific biological processes. However, recent studies showed the protein-coding potential of ncRNAs, indicating that they might be a source of some special proteins. Although there are increasing noncoding RNAs identified to be able to code proteins, it is challenging to distinguish coding RNAs from previously annotated ncRNAs, and to detect the proteins from their translation. In this article, we designed a pipeline to identify these noncoding RNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana from three NCBI GEO data sets with coding potential and predict their translation products. 31 311 noncoding RNAs were predicted to be translated into peptides, and they showed lower conservation rate than common proteins. In addition, we built an interaction network between these peptides and annotated Arabidopsis proteins using BIPS, which included 69 peptides from noncoding RNAs. Peptides in the interaction network showed different characteristics from other noncoding RNA-derived peptides, and they participated in several crucial biological processes, such as photorespiration and stress-responses. All the information of putative ncPEPs and their interaction with proteins predicted above are finally integrated in a database, PncPEPDB ( http://bis.zju.edu.cn/PncPEPDB ). These results showed that peptides derived from noncoding RNAs may play important roles in noncoding RNA regulation, which provided another hypothesis that noncoding RNA may regulate the metabolism via their translation products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qilin Li
- Department
of Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Md. Asif Ahsan
- Department
of Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Hongjun Chen
- Department
of Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Jitong Xue
- Department
of Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- James
D. Watson Institute of Genome Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Ming Chen
- Department
of Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- James
D. Watson Institute of Genome Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
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46
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Kaushik K, Sivadas A, Vellarikkal SK, Verma A, Jayarajan R, Pandey S, Sethi T, Maiti S, Scaria V, Sivasubbu S. RNA secondary structure profiling in zebrafish reveals unique regulatory features. BMC Genomics 2018; 19:147. [PMID: 29448945 PMCID: PMC5815192 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-018-4497-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Accepted: 01/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background RNA is known to play diverse roles in gene regulation. The clues for this regulatory function of RNA are embedded in its ability to fold into intricate secondary and tertiary structure. Results We report the transcriptome-wide RNA secondary structure in zebrafish at single nucleotide resolution using Parallel Analysis of RNA Structure (PARS). This study provides the secondary structure map of zebrafish coding and non-coding RNAs. The single nucleotide pairing probabilities of 54,083 distinct transcripts in the zebrafish genome were documented. We identified RNA secondary structural features embedded in functional units of zebrafish mRNAs. Translation start and stop sites were demarcated by weak structural signals. The coding regions were characterized by the three-nucleotide periodicity of secondary structure and display a codon base specific structural constrain. The splice sites of transcripts were also delineated by distinct signature signals. Relatively higher structural signals were observed at 3’ Untranslated Regions (UTRs) compared to Coding DNA Sequence (CDS) and 5’ UTRs. The 3′ ends of transcripts were also marked by unique structure signals. Secondary structural signals in long non-coding RNAs were also explored to better understand their molecular function. Conclusions Our study presents the first PARS-enabled transcriptome-wide secondary structure map of zebrafish, which documents pairing probability of RNA at single nucleotide precision. Our findings open avenues for exploring structural features in zebrafish RNAs and their influence on gene expression. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-4497-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kriti Kaushik
- Genomics and Molecular Medicine, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Sukhdev Vihar, Mathura Road, New Delhi, 110025, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Ambily Sivadas
- G.N. Ramachandran Knowledge Centre for Genome Informatics, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Sukhdev Vihar, Mathura Road, New Delhi, 110025, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Shamsudheen Karuthedath Vellarikkal
- Genomics and Molecular Medicine, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Sukhdev Vihar, Mathura Road, New Delhi, 110025, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Ankit Verma
- Genomics and Molecular Medicine, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Sukhdev Vihar, Mathura Road, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Rijith Jayarajan
- Genomics and Molecular Medicine, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Sukhdev Vihar, Mathura Road, New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Satyaprakash Pandey
- Genomics and Molecular Medicine, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Sukhdev Vihar, Mathura Road, New Delhi, 110025, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Tavprithesh Sethi
- Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi, 110020, India
| | - Souvik Maiti
- Genomics and Molecular Medicine, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Sukhdev Vihar, Mathura Road, New Delhi, 110025, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Vinod Scaria
- G.N. Ramachandran Knowledge Centre for Genome Informatics, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Sukhdev Vihar, Mathura Road, New Delhi, 110025, India. .,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi, 110025, India.
| | - Sridhar Sivasubbu
- Genomics and Molecular Medicine, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Sukhdev Vihar, Mathura Road, New Delhi, 110025, India. .,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi, 110025, India.
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Piao M, Sun L, Zhang QC. RNA Regulations and Functions Decoded by Transcriptome-wide RNA Structure Probing. GENOMICS PROTEOMICS & BIOINFORMATICS 2017; 15:267-278. [PMID: 29031843 PMCID: PMC5673676 DOI: 10.1016/j.gpb.2017.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Revised: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 05/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
RNA folds into intricate structures that are crucial for its functions and regulations. To date, a multitude of approaches for probing structures of the whole transcriptome, i.e., RNA structuromes, have been developed. Applications of these approaches to different cell lines and tissues have generated a rich resource for the study of RNA structure–function relationships at a systems biology level. In this review, we first introduce the designs of these methods and their applications to study different RNA structuromes. We emphasize their technological differences especially their unique advantages and caveats. We then summarize the structural insights in RNA functions and regulations obtained from the studies of RNA structuromes. And finally, we propose potential directions for future improvements and studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meiling Piao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Lei Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Qiangfeng Cliff Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
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48
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Dawn of the in vivo RNA structurome and interactome. Biochem Soc Trans 2017; 44:1395-1410. [PMID: 27911722 DOI: 10.1042/bst20160075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2016] [Revised: 06/19/2016] [Accepted: 07/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
RNA is one of the most fascinating biomolecules in living systems given its structural versatility to fold into elaborate architectures for important biological functions such as gene regulation, catalysis, and information storage. Knowledge of RNA structures and interactions can provide deep insights into their functional roles in vivo For decades, RNA structural studies have been conducted on a transcript-by-transcript basis. The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) has enabled the development of transcriptome-wide structural probing methods to profile the global landscape of RNA structures and interactions, also known as the RNA structurome and interactome, which transformed our understanding of the RNA structure-function relationship on a transcriptomic scale. In this review, molecular tools and NGS methods used for RNA structure probing are presented, novel insights uncovered by RNA structurome and interactome studies are highlighted, and perspectives on current challenges and potential future directions are discussed. A more complete understanding of the RNA structures and interactions in vivo will help illuminate the novel roles of RNA in gene regulation, development, and diseases.
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49
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Zheng Z, Reichel M, Deveson I, Wong G, Li J, Millar AA. Target RNA Secondary Structure Is a Major Determinant of miR159 Efficacy. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2017; 174:1764-1778. [PMID: 28515145 PMCID: PMC5490886 DOI: 10.1104/pp.16.01898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Accepted: 05/13/2017] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
In plants, microRNA (miRNA)-target complementarity has long been considered the predominant factor determining the silencing outcome of the miRNA-target interaction, although the efficacy of such interactions have rarely been appraised in plants. Here, we perform in planta silencing efficacy assays on seven Arabidopsis MYB genes, all of which contain conserved miR159-binding sites of analogous complementarity. These genes were found to be differentially silenced by miR159; MYB81, MYB97, MYB101, MYB104, and DUO1 were all poorly silenced, whereas MYB33 and MYB65 were strongly silenced. Curiously, this is consistent with previous genetic analysis defining MYB33 and MYB65 as the major functional targets of miR159. Neither the free energy of miR159-target complementarity, nor miRNA binding site accessibility, as determined by flanking region AU content, could fully explain the discrepancy of miR159 silencing efficacy. Instead, we found that MYB33 and MYB65 were both predicted to contain a distinctive RNA secondary structure abutting the miR159 binding site. The structure is composed of two stem-loops (SLs) that are predicted to form in MYB33/65 homologs of species as evolutionary distant as gymnosperms. Functional analysis found that the RNA structure in MYB33 correlated with strong silencing efficacy; introducing mutations to disrupt either SL attenuated miR159 efficacy, while introducing complementary mutations to restore the SLs, but not the sequence, restored strong miR159-mediated silencing. Therefore, it appears that this RNA secondary structure demarcates MYB33/65 as sensitive targets of miR159, which underpins the narrow functional specificity of Arabidopsis miR159.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihui Zheng
- Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Marlene Reichel
- Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Ira Deveson
- Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Gigi Wong
- Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Junyan Li
- Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Anthony A Millar
- Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
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Foley SW, Kramer MC, Gregory BD. RNA structure, binding, and coordination in Arabidopsis. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-RNA 2017; 8. [PMID: 28660659 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2016] [Revised: 03/08/2017] [Accepted: 04/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
From the moment of transcription, up through degradation, each RNA transcript is bound by an ever-changing cohort of RNA binding proteins. The binding of these proteins is regulated by both the primary RNA sequence, as well as the intramolecular RNA folding, or secondary structure, of the transcript. Thus, RNA secondary structure regulates many post-transcriptional processes. With the advent of next generation sequencing, several techniques have been developed to generate global landscapes of both RNA-protein interactions and RNA secondary structure. In this review, we describe the current state of the field detailing techniques to globally interrogate RNA secondary structure and/or RNA-protein interaction sites, as well as our current understanding of these features in the transcriptome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. WIREs RNA 2017, 8:e1426. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1426 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn W Foley
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Marianne C Kramer
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Brian D Gregory
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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