Unravelling HP1 functions: post-transcriptional regulation of stem cell fate

Chromosoma ◽

10.1007/s00412-021-00760-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Assunta Maria Casale ◽

Ugo Cappucci ◽

Lucia Piacentini

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Transcriptional Regulation ◽

Stem Cell ◽

Cell Fate ◽

Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽

Telomere Maintenance ◽

Chromosomal Protein ◽

Heterochromatin Protein 1 ◽

Post Transcriptional Regulation

AbstractHeterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) is a non-histone chromosomal protein first identified in Drosophila as a major component of constitutive heterochromatin, required for stable epigenetic gene silencing in many species including humans. Over the years, several studies have highlighted additional roles of HP1 in different cellular processes including telomere maintenance, DNA replication and repair, chromosome segregation and, surprisingly, positive regulation of gene expression. In this review, we briefly summarize past research and recent results supporting the unexpected and emerging role of HP1 in activating gene expression. In particular, we discuss the role of HP1 in post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA processing because it has proved decisive in the control of germline stem cells homeostasis in Drosophila and has certainly added a new dimension to our understanding on HP1 targeting and functions in epigenetic regulation of stem cell behaviour.

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Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) is intrinsically required for post-transcriptional regulation of Drosophila Germline Stem Cell (GSC) maintenance

10.1101/474833 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Assunta Maria Casale ◽

Ugo Cappucci ◽

Laura Fanti ◽

Lucia Piacentini

Keyword(s):

Stem Cell ◽

Regulatory Networks ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽

Telomere Maintenance ◽

Germline Stem Cell ◽

Heterochromatin Protein 1 ◽

Self Renewal ◽

Heterochromatin Formation ◽

Post Transcriptional Regulation

AbstractA very important open question in stem cells regulation is how the fine balance between GSCs self-renewal and differentiation is orchestrated at the molecular level. In the past several years much progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying intrinsic and extrinsic controls of GSC regulation but the complex gene regulatory networks that regulate stem cell behavior are only partially understood. HP1 is a dynamic epigenetic determinant mainly involved in heterochromatin formation, epigenetic gene silencing and telomere maintenance. Furthermore, recent studies have revealed the importance of HP1 in DNA repair, sister chromatid cohesion and, surprisingly, in positive regulation of gene expression. Here, we show that HP1 plays a crucial role in the control of GSC homeostasis in Drosophila. Our findings demonstrate that HP1 is required intrinsically to promote GSC self-renewal and progeny differentiation by directly stabilizing the transcripts of key genes involved in GSCs maintenance.

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Fast and Efficient 5′P Degradome Library Preparation for Analysis of Co-Translational Decay in Arabidopsis

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10030466 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 466

Author(s):

Marie-Christine Carpentier ◽

Cécile Bousquet-Antonelli ◽

Rémy Merret

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Quality Control ◽

Transcriptional Regulation ◽

High Throughput ◽

Library Preparation ◽

Working Day ◽

Set Up ◽

Post Transcriptional Regulation ◽

Commercial Kit

The recent development of high-throughput technologies based on RNA sequencing has allowed a better description of the role of post-transcriptional regulation in gene expression. In particular, the development of degradome approaches based on the capture of 5′monophosphate decay intermediates allows the discovery of a new decay pathway called co-translational mRNA decay. Thanks to these approaches, ribosome dynamics could now be revealed by analysis of 5′P reads accumulation. However, library preparation could be difficult to set-up for non-specialists. Here, we present a fast and efficient 5′P degradome library preparation for Arabidopsis samples. Our protocol was designed without commercial kit and gel purification and can be easily done in one working day. We demonstrated the robustness and the reproducibility of our protocol. Finally, we present the bioinformatic reads-outs necessary to assess library quality control.

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