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Modzelewski AJ, Shao W, Chen J, Lee A, Qi X, Noon M, Tjokro K, Sales G, Biton A, Anand A, Speed TP, Xuan Z, Wang T, Risso D, He L. A mouse-specific retrotransposon drives a conserved Cdk2ap1 isoform essential for development. Cell 2021; 184:5541-5558.e22. [PMID: 34644528 PMCID: PMC8787082 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.09.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Retrotransposons mediate gene regulation in important developmental and pathological processes. Here, we characterized the transient retrotransposon induction during preimplantation development of eight mammals. Induced retrotransposons exhibit similar preimplantation profiles across species, conferring gene regulatory activities, particularly through long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposon promoters. A mouse-specific MT2B2 retrotransposon promoter generates an N-terminally truncated Cdk2ap1ΔN that peaks in preimplantation embryos and promotes proliferation. In contrast, the canonical Cdk2ap1 peaks in mid-gestation and represses cell proliferation. This MT2B2 promoter, whose deletion abolishes Cdk2ap1ΔN production, reduces cell proliferation and impairs embryo implantation, is developmentally essential. Intriguingly, Cdk2ap1ΔN is evolutionarily conserved in sequence and function yet is driven by different promoters across mammals. The distinct preimplantation Cdk2ap1ΔN expression in each mammalian species correlates with the duration of its preimplantation development. Hence, species-specific transposon promoters can yield evolutionarily conserved, alternative protein isoforms, bestowing them with new functions and species-specific expression to govern essential biological divergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Modzelewski
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, MCB Department, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Wanqing Shao
- Department of Genetics, Edison Family Center for Genome Science and System Biology, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Jingqi Chen
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, MCB Department, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Angus Lee
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, MCB Department, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Xin Qi
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, MCB Department, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Mackenzie Noon
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, MCB Department, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Kristy Tjokro
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, MCB Department, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Gabriele Sales
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova 35122, Italy
| | - Anne Biton
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, Department of Computational Biology, USR 3756 CNRS, Institut Pasteur, Paris 75015, France
| | - Aparna Anand
- Department of Genetics, Edison Family Center for Genome Science and System Biology, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Terence P Speed
- Bioinformatics Division, WEHI, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Zhenyu Xuan
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Ting Wang
- Department of Genetics, Edison Family Center for Genome Science and System Biology, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
| | - Davide Risso
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova 35122, Italy.
| | - Lin He
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, MCB Department, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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