The production and secretion of tRNA-derived RNA fragments in the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis.

ABSTRACT: The biogenesis of small non-coding RNAs is a molecular event that contributes to cellular functions. The basidiomycete fungus Ustilago maydis is a biotrophic pathogen parasitizing maize. A hallmark of its genome structure is an absence of RNAi machinery including Dicer and Argonaute proteins, which are responsible for the production of small RNAs in other organisms. However, it remains unclear whether U. maydis produces small RNAs during fungal growth. Here we found that U. maydis cells accumulate approximately 20-30 nucleotides of small RNA fragments during growth in the axenic culture condition. The RNA-seq analysis of these fragments identified that these small RNAs are originated from tRNAs and 5.8S ribosomal RNA. Interestingly, majority of their sequences are gene

SUBMITTER: Yoshimoto R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10512261 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature