27nt-RNAs guide histone variant deposition via 'RNA-induced DNA replication interference' and thus transmit parental genome partitioning in Stylonychia

The Yin and Yang of Histone Marks in Transcription

Nucleosomes wrap DNA and impede access for the machinery of transcription. The core histones that constitute nucleosomes are subject to a diversity of posttranslational modifications, or marks, that impact the transcription of genes. Their functions have sometimes been difficult to infer because the enzymes that write and read them are complex, multifunctional proteins. Here, we examine the evidence for the functions of marks and argue that the major marks perform a fairly small number of roles in either promoting transcription or preventing it. Acetylations and phosphorylations on the histone core disrupt histone-DNA contacts and/or destabilize nucleosomes to promote transcription. Ubiquitylations stimulate methylations that provide a scaffold for either the formation of silencing complexes or resistance to those complexes, and carry a memory of the transcriptional state. Tail phosphorylations deconstruct silencing complexes in particular contexts. We speculate that these fairly simple roles form the basis of transcriptional regulation by histone marks.

Programmed genome rearrangements in ciliates

Ciliates are a highly divergent group of unicellular eukaryotes with separate somatic and germline genomes found in distinct dimorphic nuclei. This characteristic feature is tightly linked to extremely laborious developmentally regulated genome rearrangements in the development of a new somatic genome/nuclei following sex. The transformation from germline to soma genome involves massive DNA elimination mediated by non-coding RNAs, chromosome fragmentation, as well as DNA amplification. In this review, we discuss the similarities and differences in the genome reorganization processes of the model ciliates Paramecium and Tetrahymena (class Oligohymenophorea), and the distantly related Euplotes, Stylonychia, and Oxytricha (class Spirotrichea).

Roles of Noncoding RNAs in Ciliate Genome Architecture

Ciliates are an interesting model system for investigating diverse functions of noncoding RNAs, especially in genome defence pathways. During sexual development, the ciliate somatic genome undergoes massive rearrangement and reduction through removal of transposable elements and other repetitive DNA. This is guided by a multitude of noncoding RNAs of different sizes and functions, the extent of which is only recently becoming clear. The genome rearrangement pathways evolved as a defence against parasitic DNA, but interestingly also use the transposable elements and transposases to execute their own removal. Thus, ciliates are also a good model for the coevolution of host and transposable element, and the mutual dependence between the two. In this review, we summarise the genome rearrangement pathways in three diverse species of ciliate, with focus on recent discoveries and the roles of noncoding RNAs.

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Ciliate genomes undergo massive rearrangement and reduction during development.

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Transposon elimination is guided by small RNAs and carried out by transposases.

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New pathways for noncoding RNA production have recently been discovered in ciliates.

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Diverse ciliate species have different mechanisms for RNA-guided genome remodeling.

Conserved chromosomal functions of RNA interference

RNA interference (RNAi), a cellular process through which small RNAs target and regulate complementary RNA transcripts, has well-characterized roles in post-transcriptional gene regulation and transposon repression. Recent studies have revealed additional conserved roles for RNAi proteins, such as Argonaute and Dicer, in chromosome function. By guiding chromatin modification, RNAi components promote chromosome segregation during both mitosis and meiosis and regulate chromosomal and genomic dosage response. Small RNAs and the RNAi machinery also participate in the resolution of DNA damage. Interestingly, many of these lesser-studied functions seem to be more strongly conserved across eukaryotes than are well-characterized functions such as the processing of microRNAs. These findings have implications for the evolution of RNAi since the last eukaryotic common ancestor, and they provide a more complete view of the functions of RNAi.

Biogenesis of Developmental Master Regulatory 27nt-RNAs in Stylonychia-Can Coding RNA Turn into Non-Coding?

In the ciliate Stylonychia, somatic macronuclei differentiate from germline micronuclei during sexual reproduction, accompanied by developmental sequence reduction. Concomitantly, over 95% of micronuclear sequences adopt a heterochromatin structure characterized by the histone variant H3.4 and H3K27me3. RNAi-related genes and histone variants dominate the list of developmentally expressed genes. Simultaneously, 27nt-ncRNAs that match sequences retained in new macronuclei are synthesized and bound by PIWI1. Recently, we proposed a mechanistic model for ‘RNA-induced DNA replication interference’ (RIRI): during polytene chromosome formation PIWI1/27nt-RNA-complexes target macronucleus-destined sequences (MDS) by base-pairing and temporarily cause locally stalled replication. At polytene chromosomal segments with ongoing replication, H3.4K27me3-nucleosomes become selectively deposited, thus dictating the prospective heterochromatin structure of these areas. Consequently, these micronucleus-specific sequences become degraded, whereas 27nt-RNA-covered sites remain protected. However, the biogenesis of the 27nt-RNAs remains unclear. It was proposed earlier that in stichotrichous ciliates 27nt-RNA precursors could derive from telomere-primed bidirectional transcription of nanochromosomes and subsequent Dicer-like (DCL) activity. As a minimalistic explanation, we propose here that the 27nt-RNA precursor could rather be mRNA or pre-mRNA and that the transition of coding RNA from parental macronuclei to non-coding RNAs, which act in premature developing macronuclei, could involve RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RDRP) activity creating dsRNA intermediates prior to a DCL-dependent pathway. Interestingly, by such mechanism the partition of a parental somatic genome and possibly also the specific nanochromosome copy numbers could be vertically transmitted to the differentiating nuclei of the offspring.