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GC-rich coding sequences reduce transposon-like sRNA-mediated transgene silencing in Arabidopsis and maize

ABSTRACT: The molecular basis of transgene susceptibility to silencing is poorly characterized in plants, thus we evaluated several transgene design parameters as means to reduce heritable sRNA-mediated transgene silencing. Analyses of Arabidopsis plants with transgenes encoding a microalgal polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) synthase revealed that small RNA (sRNA)-mediated silencing, combined with the use of repetitive regulatory elements, led to aggressive transposable element (TE)-like silencing of canola-biased PUFA transgenes. Diversifying regulatory sequences and using native microalgal coding sequences (CDSs) with higher GC content improved transgene expression and resulted in remarkable trans-generational stability via reduced accumulation of sRNAs and DNA methylation. Further experiments in maize with transgenes individually expressing three Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal proteins tested the impact of CDSs recoding using different codon bias tables. Transgenes with the higher GC content exhibited increased transcript and protein accumulation. These results demonstrate that the sequence composition of transgene CDSs can directly impact silencing providing design strategies for increasing transgene expression levels and reducing risks of heritable loss of transgene expression.

ORGANISM(S): Zea mays

PROVIDER: GSE103037 | GEO | 2017/10/30

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA399853

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Next-generation Illumina sequencing technology was used to analyze small RNA associated with post-transcriptional gene silencing induced by intron-spliced hairpin RNA (ihpRNA) in Arabidopsis. The experimental induction of RNA silencing in plants often involves expression of transgenes encoding inverted repeat (IR) sequences to produce abundant dsRNAs that are processed into small RNAs (sRNAs). These sRNAs are key mediators of post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) and determine the specificity of the inhibition of gene expression. Despite its broad utility as a research tool, IR-PTGS is only a partially understood mechanism of RNA silencing in plants. We generated four sets of 60 Arabidopsis plants, each containing IR transgenes expressing different configurations of uidA and CHALCONE SYNTHASE (CHS) gene fragments. The levels of PTGS were dependent on the orientation and position of the fragment in the IR construct. To investigate these differences, we characterized the sRNA profiles by Illumina sequencing of seven libraries generated from transgenic families showing different levels of IR-PTGS. Mapping of sRNA sequences to their corresponding transgene-derived and endogenous transcripts identified distinctive patterns of differential sRNA accumulation. Analyses of these patterns and peaks revealed similarities among sRNAs associated with IR-PTGS and endogenous sRNAs linked to uncapped mRNA decay. We also found unexpected associations between sRNA accumulation and the presence of predicted open reading frames in the trigger sequence. Our observations provide new guidelines for designing constructs to increase the efficiency of IR-PTGS. In addition, strong IR-PTGS affected the prevalence of endogenous sRNAs, which has implications for the use of PTGS for experimental or applied purposes. Sequencing of small RNA from Arabidopsis plants transformed with ihpRNA constructs. Seven small RNA libraries were sequenced: Lib 0, made from non-transgenic Arabidopsis plants, and Libs 1-6, made from plants transformed with different configurations of ihpRNA.

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GC-rich coding sequences reduce transposon-like sRNA-mediated transgene silencing in Arabidopsis and maize

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