Nano3P-seq: transcriptome-wide analysis of gene expression and tail dynamics using end-capture nanopore sequencing

RNA polyadenylation plays a central role in RNA maturation, fate and stability. In response to developmental cues, polyA tail lengths can vary, affecting the translatability and stability of mRNAs. Here we develop Nano3P-seq, a novel method that relies on nanopore sequencing to simultaneously quantify RNA abundance and tail length dynamics at per-read resolution. By employing a template switching-based sequencing protocol, Nano3P-seq can sequence any given RNA molecule from its 3'end, regardless of its polyadenylation status, without the need of PCR amplification or ligation of RNA adapters. We demonstrate that Nano3P-seq captures a wide diversity of RNA biotypes, providing quantitative estimates of RNA abundance and tail lengths in mRNAs, lncRNAs, sn/snoRNAs, scaRNAs and rRNAs. We find that, in addition to mRNAs and lncRNAs, polyA tails can be identified in 16S mitochondrial rRNA in both mouse and zebrafish. Moreover, we show that mRNA tail lengths are dynamically regulated during vertebrate embryogenesis at the isoform-specific level, correlating with mRNA decay. Overall, Nano3P-seq is a simple and robust method to accurately estimate transcript levels and tail lengths in full-length individual reads, with minimal library preparation biases, both in the coding and non-coding transcriptome.

Click-encoded rolling FISH for visualizing single-cell RNA polyadenylation and structures

Spatially resolved visualization of RNA processing and structures is important for better studying single-cell RNA function and landscape. However, currently available RNA imaging methods are limited to sequence analysis, and not capable of identifying RNA processing events and structures. Here, we developed click-encoded rolling FISH (ClickerFISH) for visualizing RNA polyadenylation and structures in single cells. In ClickerFISH, RNA 3′ polyadenylation tails, single-stranded and duplex regions are chemically labeled with different clickable DNA barcodes. These barcodes then initiate DNA rolling amplification, generating repetitive templates for FISH to image their subcellular distributions. Combined with single-molecule FISH, the proposed strategy can also obtain quantitative information of RNA of interest. Finally, we found that RNA poly(A) tailing and higher-order structures are spatially organized in a cell type-specific style with cell-to-cell heterogeneity. We also explored their spatiotemporal patterns during cell cycle stages, and revealed the highly dynamic organization especially in S phase. This method will help clarify the spatiotemporal architecture of RNA polyadenylation and structures.