scholarly journals The TRIM-NHL protein NHL-2 is a Novel Co-Factor of the CSR-1 and HRDE-1 22G-RNA Pathways

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory M. Davis ◽  
Shikui Tu ◽  
Rhys N. Colson ◽  
Joshua W. T. Anderson ◽  
Menachem J. Gunzburg ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTProper regulation of germline gene expression is essential for fertility and maintaining species integrity. In the C. elegans germline, a diverse repertoire of regulatory pathways promote the expression of endogenous germline genes and limit the expression of deleterious transcripts to maintain genome homeostasis. Here we show that the conserved TRIM-NHL protein, NHL-2, plays an essential role in the C. elegans germline, modulating germline chromatin and meiotic chromosome organization. We uncover a role for NHL-2 as a co-factor in both positively (CSR-1) and negatively (HRDE-1) acting germline 22G-small RNA pathways and the somatic nuclear RNAi pathway. Furthermore, we demonstrate that NHL-2 is a bona fide RNA binding protein and, along with RNA-seq data point to a small RNA independent role for NHL-2 in regulating transcripts at the level of RNA stability. Collectively, our data implicate NHL-2 as an essential hub of gene regulatory activity in both the germline and soma.

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory M Davis ◽  
Shikui Tu ◽  
Joshua WT Anderson ◽  
Rhys N Colson ◽  
Menachem J Gunzburg ◽  
...  

Proper regulation of germline gene expression is essential for fertility and maintaining species integrity. In the C. elegans germline, a diverse repertoire of regulatory pathways promote the expression of endogenous germline genes and limit the expression of deleterious transcripts to maintain genome homeostasis. Here we show that the conserved TRIM-NHL protein, NHL-2, plays an essential role in the C. elegans germline, modulating germline chromatin and meiotic chromosome organization. We uncover a role for NHL-2 as a co-factor in both positively (CSR-1) and negatively (HRDE-1) acting germline 22G-small RNA pathways and the somatic nuclear RNAi pathway. Furthermore, we demonstrate that NHL-2 is a bona fide RNA binding protein and, along with RNA-seq data point to a small RNA independent role for NHL-2 in regulating transcripts at the level of RNA stability. Collectively, our data implicate NHL-2 as an essential hub of gene regulatory activity in both the germline and soma.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia N. McMurchy ◽  
Przemyslaw Stempor ◽  
Tessa Gaarenstroom ◽  
Brian Wysolmerski ◽  
Yan Dong ◽  
...  

AbstractRepetitive sequences derived from transposons make up a large fraction of eukaryotic genomes and must be silenced to protect genome integrity. Repetitive elements are often found in heterochromatin; however, the roles and interactions of heterochromatin proteins in repeat regulation are poorly understood. Here we show that a diverse set of C. elegans heterochromatin proteins act together with the piRNA and nuclear RNAi pathways to silence repetitive elements and prevent genotoxic stress in the germ line. Mutants in genes encoding HPL-2/HP1, LIN-13, LIN-61, LET-418/Mi-2, and H3K9me2 histone methyltransferase MET-2/SETDB1 also show functionally redundant sterility, increased germline apoptosis, DNA repair defects, and interactions with small RNA pathways. Remarkably, fertility of heterochromatin mutants could be partially restored by inhibiting cep-1/p53, endogenous meiotic double strand breaks, or the expression of MIRAGE1 DNA transposons. Functional redundancy among these factors and pathways underlies the importance of safeguarding the genome through multiple means.


eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia N McMurchy ◽  
Przemyslaw Stempor ◽  
Tessa Gaarenstroom ◽  
Brian Wysolmerski ◽  
Yan Dong ◽  
...  

Repetitive sequences derived from transposons make up a large fraction of eukaryotic genomes and must be silenced to protect genome integrity. Repetitive elements are often found in heterochromatin; however, the roles and interactions of heterochromatin proteins in repeat regulation are poorly understood. Here we show that a diverse set of C. elegans heterochromatin proteins act together with the piRNA and nuclear RNAi pathways to silence repetitive elements and prevent genotoxic stress in the germ line. Mutants in genes encoding HPL-2/HP1, LIN-13, LIN-61, LET-418/Mi-2, and H3K9me2 histone methyltransferase MET-2/SETDB1 also show functionally redundant sterility, increased germline apoptosis, DNA repair defects, and interactions with small RNA pathways. Remarkably, fertility of heterochromatin mutants could be partially restored by inhibiting cep-1/p53, endogenous meiotic double strand breaks, or the expression of MIRAGE1 DNA transposons. Functional redundancy among factors and pathways underlies the importance of safeguarding the genome through multiple means.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Chaves ◽  
Hui Dai ◽  
Lichao Li ◽  
James J. Moresco ◽  
Myung Eun Oh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-270.e6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna M. Tyc ◽  
Amena Nabih ◽  
Monica Z. Wu ◽  
Christopher J. Wedeles ◽  
Julia A. Sobotka ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caridad Miro Pina ◽  
Takayuki Kawaguchi ◽  
Olivia Charmant ◽  
Audrey Michaud ◽  
Isadora Cohen ◽  
...  

Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) maintains transcriptionally silent genes in a repressed state via deposition of histone H3 K27 trimethyl (me3) marks. PRC2 has also been implicated in silencing transposable elements (TEs) yet how PRC2 is targeted to TEs remains unclear. To address this question, we performed tandem affinity purification combined with mass spectrometry and identified proteins that physically interact with the Paramecium Enhancer-of-zeste Ezl1 enzyme, which catalyzes H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 deposition at TEs. We show that the Paramecium PRC2 core complex comprises four subunits, each required in vivo for catalytic activity. We also identify PRC2 cofactors, including the RNA interference (RNAi) effector Ptiwi09, which are necessary to target H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 to TEs. We find that the physical interaction between PRC2 and the RNAi pathway is mediated by a RING finger protein and that small RNA recruitment of PRC2 to TEs is analogous to the small RNA recruitment of H3K9 methylation SU(VAR)3-9 enzymes.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon D. Fields ◽  
Scott Kennedy

AbstractDNA is organized and compacted into higher-order structures in order to fit within nuclei and to facilitate proper gene regulation. Mechanisms by which higher order chromatin structures are established and maintained are poorly understood. In C. elegans, nuclear-localized small RNAs engage the nuclear RNAi machinery to regulate gene expression and direct the post-translational modification of histone proteins. Here we confirm a recent report suggesting that nuclear small RNAs are required to initiate or maintain chromatin compaction states in C. elegans germ cells. Additionally, we show that experimentally provided small RNAs are sufficient to direct chromatin compaction and that this compaction requires the small RNA-binding Argonaute NRDE-3, the pre-mRNA associated factor NRDE-2, and the HP1-like protein HPL-2. Our results show that small RNAs, acting via the nuclear RNAi machinery and an HP1-like protein, are capable of driving chromatin compaction in C. elegans.


eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lianna Schwartz-Orbach ◽  
Chenzhen Zhang ◽  
Simone Sidoli ◽  
Richa Amin ◽  
Diljeet Kaur ◽  
...  

Nuclear RNAi provides a highly tractable system to study RNA-mediated chromatin changes and epigenetic inheritance. Recent studies have indicated that the regulation and function of nuclear RNAi-mediated heterochromatin are highly complex. Our knowledge of histone modifications and the corresponding histonemodifying enzymes involved in the system remains limited. In this study, we show that the heterochromatin mark, H3K23me3, is induced by nuclear RNAi at both exogenous and endogenous targets in C. elegans. In addition, dsRNA-induced H3K23me3 can persist for multiple generations after the dsRNA exposure has stopped. We demonstrate that the histone methyltransferase SET-32, methylates H3K23 in vitro. Both set-32 and the germline nuclear RNAi Argonaute, hrde-1, are required for nuclear RNAi-induced H3K23me3 in vivo. Our data poise H3K23me3 as an additional chromatin modification in the nuclear RNAi pathway and provides the field with a new target for uncovering the role of heterochromatin in transgenerational epigenetic silencing.


2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (24) ◽  
pp. 8472-8477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yngve Östberg ◽  
Ignas Bunikis ◽  
Sven Bergström ◽  
Jörgen Johansson

ABSTRACT Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) have recently been shown to be the main controllers of several regulatory pathways. The function of sRNAs depends in many cases on the RNA-binding protein Hfq, especially for sRNAs with an antisense function. In this study, the genome of Borrelia burgdorferi was subjected to different searches for sRNAs, including direct homology and comparative genomics searches and ortholog- and annotation-based search strategies. Two new sRNAs were found, one of which showed complementarity to the rpoS region, which it possibly controls by an antisense mechanism. The role of the other sRNA is unknown, although observed complementarities against particular mRNA sequences suggest an antisense mechanism. We suggest that the low level of sRNAs observed in B. burgdorferi is at least partly due to the presumed lack of both functional Hfq protein and RNase E activity.


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