Project description:We constructed a DBR1 knockout cell line (C22) using CRISPR in HEK293T cells. Through mapping of lariat reads, lariat levels in the DBR1 - samples are shown to increase dramatically (~20x) relative to wild type cells. Over 60% of this increase in lariat levels is abrogated upon rescue of DBR1 - cells with a DBR1 expression vector
Project description:Lariat RNAs, generated as by-products of RNA splicing from excised introns, must be removed. RNA debranching enzyme (DBR1) is the core factor responsible for lariat RNA removal. However, the mechanism by which DBR1 debranches lariat RNAs remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that six ALBA (Acetylation Lowers Binding Affinity) proteins interact with DBR1 to enhance its debranching activity and facilitate DBR1's accessibility to lariat RNAs, thereby promoting lariat RNA turnover. Similar to dbr1, alba mutants exhibit pleiotropic developmental defects and accumulate lariat RNAs. ALBAs bind to lariat RNAs via their C-terminal RGG/RG-rich repeats and assist DBR1 in binding to these RNAs. The N-terminal ALBA domain mediates the interaction with DBR1 and enhances its enzymatic activity. Cold stress induces lariat RNA accumulation by attenuating the ALBA–DBR1 interaction, which in turn reduces the induction of cold-responsive genes by impairing their transcription. Together, these findings uncover that lariat RNA turnover requires ALBA proteins.
Project description:We used CRISPR in HEK293T cells to create two DBR1 knockout cell lines (C19 and C22). After high-throughput sequencing of total RNA extracted from these cells, we performed lariat read mapping using the method described in "Large-scale mapping of branchpoints in human pre-mRNA transcripts in vivo" (Taggart et al, 2012). We found lariats in the two DBR1- cell lines to be ~20-fold enriched relative to the levels observed in the HEK293T control samples.
Project description:AGO-PAR-CLIP was employed to identify microRNA binding sites in BCBL-1, a Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) infected B-cell line and DG75, a KSHV negative B-cell line as a control. By using our novel computational method (PARma) and differential analysis of PAR-CLIP data, highly accurate target sites of KSHV microRNAs can be defined. Examination of microRNA target sites in two different cell lines using replicate PAR-CLIP experiments
Project description:The identification of RNAs that are recognized by RNA-binding proteins (RNA-BPs) using techniques such as Crosslinking and Immunoprecipitation (CLIP) has revolutionized the genome-wide discovery of RNA-BP RNA targets. Among the different versions of CLIP that have been developed, the use of photoactivable nucleoside analogs has resulted in high efficiency photoactivable ribonucleoside-enhanced CLIP (PAR-CLIP) in vivo. Nonetheless, PAR-CLIP has not yet been applied in prokaryotes. To determine if PAR-CLIP can be used in prokaryotes, we determined suitable conditions for the incorporation of 4-thiouridine (4SU), a photoactivable nucleoside, into E. coli RNA and for the isolation of RNA crosslinked to RNA-BPs of interest. Applying this technique to Hfq, a well-characterized regulator of small RNA (sRNA)-messenger RNA (mRNA) interactions, we showed that PAR-CLIP identified most of the known sRNA targets of Hfq, as well as functionally relevant sites of Hfq-mRNA interactions at nucleotide resolution. Based on our findings, PAR-CLIP represents an improved method to identify both the RNAs and the specific regulatory sites that are recognized by RNA-BPs in prokaryotes.