Regulation of microRNA biogenesis Ha, Minju; Kim, V Narry
Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology,
08/2014, Letnik:
15, Številka:
8
Journal Article
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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that function as guide molecules in RNA silencing. Targeting most protein-coding transcripts, miRNAs are involved in nearly all developmental and ...pathological processes in animals. The biogenesis of miRNAs is under tight temporal and spatial control, and their dysregulation is associated with many human diseases, particularly cancer. In animals, miRNAs are ∼22 nucleotides in length, and they are produced by two RNase III proteins--Drosha and Dicer. miRNA biogenesis is regulated at multiple levels, including at the level of miRNA transcription; its processing by Drosha and Dicer in the nucleus and cytoplasm, respectively; its modification by RNA editing, RNA methylation, uridylation and adenylation; Argonaute loading; and RNA decay. Non-canonical pathways for miRNA biogenesis, including those that are independent of Drosha or Dicer, are also emerging.
A new component added to the standard model of cosmology that behaves like a cosmological constant at early times and then dilutes away as radiation or faster can resolve the Hubble tension. We show ...that a rolling axion coupled to a non-Abelian gauge group exhibits the behavior of such an extra component at the background level and can present a natural particle-physics model solution to the Hubble tension. We compare the contribution of this bottom-up model to the phenomenological fluid approximation and determine that CMB observables sensitive only to the background evolution of the Universe are expected to be similar in both cases, strengthening the case for this model to provide a viable solution to the Hubble tension.
Biogenesis of canonical microRNAs (miRNAs) involves multiple steps: nuclear processing of primary miRNA (pri-miRNA) by DROSHA, nuclear export of precursor miRNA (pre-miRNA) by Exportin 5 (XPO5), and ...cytoplasmic processing of pre-miRNA by DICER. To gain a deeper understanding of the contribution of each of these maturation steps, we deleted DROSHA, XPO5, and DICER in the same human cell line, and analyzed their effects on miRNA biogenesis. Canonical miRNA production was completely abolished in DROSHA-deleted cells, whereas we detected a few DROSHA-independent miRNAs including three previously unidentified noncanonical miRNAs (miR-7706, miR-3615, and miR-1254). In contrast to DROSHA knockout, many canonical miRNAs were still detected without DICER albeit at markedly reduced levels. In the absence of DICER, pre-miRNAs are loaded directly onto AGO and trimmed at the 3′ end, yielding miRNAs from the 5′ strand (5p miRNAs). Interestingly, in XPO5 knockout cells, most miRNAs are affected only modestly, suggesting that XPO5 is necessary but not critical for miRNA maturation. Our study demonstrates an essential role of DROSHA and an important contribution of DICER in the canonical miRNA pathway, and reveals that the function of XPO5 can be complemented by alternative mechanisms. Thus, this study allows us to understand differential contributions of key biogenesis factors, and provides with valuable resources for miRNA research.
SARS-CoV-2 is a betacoronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the SARS-CoV-2 genome was reported recently, its transcriptomic architecture is unknown. Utilizing two complementary ...sequencing techniques, we present a high-resolution map of the SARS-CoV-2 transcriptome and epitranscriptome. DNA nanoball sequencing shows that the transcriptome is highly complex owing to numerous discontinuous transcription events. In addition to the canonical genomic and 9 subgenomic RNAs, SARS-CoV-2 produces transcripts encoding unknown ORFs with fusion, deletion, and/or frameshift. Using nanopore direct RNA sequencing, we further find at least 41 RNA modification sites on viral transcripts, with the most frequent motif, AAGAA. Modified RNAs have shorter poly(A) tails than unmodified RNAs, suggesting a link between the modification and the 3′ tail. Functional investigation of the unknown transcripts and RNA modifications discovered in this study will open new directions to our understanding of the life cycle and pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2.
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•We provide a high-resolution map of SARS-CoV-2 transcriptome and epitranscriptome•The transcriptome is complex owing to numerous discontinuous transcription events•In addition to 10 canonical RNAs, SARS-CoV-2 produces RNAs encoding unknown ORFs•We discover at least 41 potential RNA modification sites with an AAGAA motif
The SARS-CoV-2 transcriptome and epitranscriptome reveal a complex array of canonical and non-canonical viral transcripts with RNA modifications.
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) modulate diverse biological and pathological processes via post-transcriptional gene silencing. High-throughput small RNA sequencing (sRNA-seq) has been widely adopted to ...investigate the functions and regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs. However, accurate quantification of miRNAs has been limited owing to the severe ligation bias in conventional sRNA-seq methods. Here, we quantify miRNAs and their variants (known as isomiRs) by an improved sRNA-seq protocol, termed AQ-seq (accurate quantification by sequencing), that utilizes adapters with terminal degenerate sequences and a high concentration of polyethylene glycol (PEG), which minimize the ligation bias during library preparation. Measurement using AQ-seq allows us to correct the previously misannotated 5′ end usage and strand preference in public databases. Importantly, the analysis of 5′ terminal heterogeneity reveals widespread alternative processing events which have been underestimated. We also identify highly uridylated miRNAs originating from the 3p strands, indicating regulations mediated by terminal uridylyl transferases at the pre-miRNA stage. Taken together, our study reveals the complexity of the miRNA isoform landscape, allowing us to refine miRNA annotation and to advance our understanding of miRNA regulation. Furthermore, AQ-seq can be adopted to improve other ligation-based sequencing methods including crosslinking-immunoprecipitation-sequencing (CLIP-seq) and ribosome profiling (Ribo-seq).
Global investigation of the 3′ extremity of mRNA (3′-terminome), despite its importance in gene regulation, has not been feasible due to technical challenges associated with homopolymeric sequences ...and relative paucity of mRNA. We here develop a method, TAIL-seq, to sequence the very end of mRNA molecules. TAIL-seq allows us to measure poly(A) tail length at the genomic scale. Median poly(A) length is 50–100 nt in HeLa and NIH 3T3 cells. Poly(A) length correlates with mRNA half-life, but not with translational efficiency. Surprisingly, we discover widespread uridylation and guanylation at the downstream of poly(A) tail. The U tails are generally attached to short poly(A) tails (<25 nt), while the G tails are found mainly on longer poly(A) tails (>40 nt), implicating their generic roles in mRNA stability control. TAIL-seq is a potent tool to dissect dynamic control of mRNA turnover and translational control, and to discover unforeseen features of RNA cleavage and tailing.
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•We develop TAIL-seq that reveals the transcriptome-wide landscape of RNA 3′ ends•Poly(A) length correlates with mRNA half-life, but not with translation efficiency•We found widespread uridylation and guanylation at the 3′ ends of poly(A) tail•The U tails are generally found on short poly(A) tails (<25 nt)
Eukaryotic mRNAs have poly(A) tails that can affect mRNA stability and translational activity. Chang et al. describe a method, called TAIL-seq, that allows high-resolution, transcriptome-wide investigation of 3′ end sequences. They use this approach to profile 3′ ends and to identify several different modifications at the ends of poly(A) tails.
Abstract
Argonaute is the primary mediator of metazoan miRNA targeting (MT). Among the currently identified >1,500 human RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), there are only a handful of RBPs known to enhance ...MT and several others reported to suppress MT, leaving the global impact of RBPs on MT elusive. In this study, we have systematically analyzed transcriptome-wide binding sites for 150 human RBPs and evaluated the quantitative effect of individual RBPs on MT efficacy. In contrast to previous studies, we show that most RBPs significantly affect MT and that all of those MT-regulating RBPs function as MT enhancers rather than suppressors, by making the local secondary structure of the target site accessible to Argonaute. Our findings illuminate the unappreciated regulatory impact of human RBPs on MT, and as these RBPs may play key roles in the gene regulatory network governed by metazoan miRNAs, MT should be understood in the context of co-regulating RBPs.
RNA tailing, or the addition of non-templated nucleotides to the 3' end of RNA, is the most frequent and conserved type of RNA modification. The addition of tails and their composition reflect RNA ...maturation stages and have important roles in determining the fate of the modified RNAs. Apart from canonical poly(A) polymerases, which add poly(A) tails to mRNAs in a transcription-coupled manner, a family of terminal nucleotidyltransferases (TENTs), including terminal uridylyltransferases (TUTs), modify RNAs post-transcriptionally to control RNA stability and activity. The human genome encodes 11 different TENTs with distinct substrate specificity, intracellular localization and tissue distribution. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of non-canonical RNA tails, with a focus on the functions of human TENTs, which include uridylation, mixed tailing and post-transcriptional polyadenylation of mRNAs, microRNAs and other types of non-coding RNA.
Although more than 100 types of RNA modification have been described thus far, most of them were thought to be rare in mRNAs and in regulatory noncoding RNAs. Recent developments have unveiled that ...at least some of the modifications are considerably abundant and widely conserved. This Minireview summarizes the molecular machineries and biological functions of methylation (N6-methyladenosine, m(6)A) and uridylation (U-tail).
A model for a spin-torque nano-oscillator based on the self-sustained oscillation of a magnetic skyrmion is presented. The system involves a circular nanopillar geometry comprising an ultrathin film ...free magnetic layer with a strong Dzyaloshinkii-Moriya interaction and a polariser layer with a vortex-like spin configuration. It is shown that spin-transfer torques due to current flow perpendicular to the film plane leads to skyrmion gyration that arises from a competition between geometric confinement due to boundary edges and the vortex-like polarisation of the spin torques. A phenomenology for such oscillations is developed and quantitative analysis using micromagnetics simulations is presented. It is also shown that weak disorder due to random anisotropy variations does not influence the main characteristics of the steady-state gyration.