Project description:The double-stranded RNA-binding protein Staufen has been implicated in various posttranscriptional gene regulatory processes. Here, we demonstrate that the Caenorhabditis elegans homolog of Staufen, STAU-1, functionally interacts with microRNAs. Loss-of-function mutations of stau-1 significantly suppress phenotypes of let-7 family microRNA mutants, a hypomorphic allele of dicer and a lsy-6 microRNA partial loss-of-function mutant. Furthermore, STAU-1 modulates the activity of lin-14, a target of lin-4 and let-7 family microRNAs, and this modulation is abolished when the 3' untranslated region of lin-14 is removed. Deep sequencing of small RNA cDNA libraries reveals no dramatic change in the levels of microRNAs, or other small RNA populations between wild-type and stau-1 mutants, with the exception of certain endogenous siRNAs in the WAGO pathway. The modulation of microRNA activity by STAU-1 does not seem to be associated with the previously reported enhanced exogenous RNAi (Eri) phenotype of stau-1 mutants, since eri-1 exhibits the opposite effect on microRNA activity. Altogether, our results suggest that STAU-1 negatively modulates microRNA activity downstream of biogenesis, possibly by competing with microRNAs for binding on the 3' untranslated region of target mRNAs
Project description:The double-stranded RNA-binding protein Staufen has been implicated in various posttranscriptional gene regulatory processes. Here, we demonstrate that the Caenorhabditis elegans homolog of Staufen, STAU-1, functionally interacts with microRNAs. Loss-of-function mutations of stau-1 significantly suppress phenotypes of let-7 family microRNA mutants, a hypomorphic allele of dicer and a lsy-6 microRNA partial loss-of-function mutant. Furthermore, STAU-1 modulates the activity of lin-14, a target of lin-4 and let-7 family microRNAs, and this modulation is abolished when the 3' untranslated region of lin-14 is removed. Deep sequencing of small RNA cDNA libraries reveals no dramatic change in the levels of microRNAs, or other small RNA populations between wild-type and stau-1 mutants, with the exception of certain endogenous siRNAs in the WAGO pathway. The modulation of microRNA activity by STAU-1 does not seem to be associated with the previously reported enhanced exogenous RNAi (Eri) phenotype of stau-1 mutants, since eri-1 exhibits the opposite effect on microRNA activity. Altogether, our results suggest that STAU-1 negatively modulates microRNA activity downstream of biogenesis, possibly by competing with microRNAs for binding on the 3' untranslated region of target mRNAs Deep-sequencing was performed on cDNA libraries made from total RNA from young adults populations of two strains: wild-type (N2) and stau-1(tm2266), in three biological replicates each strain.
Project description:To examine the roles of the ADAR genes and the ERI-6/7 helicase in endogenous RNAi pathways, we sequenced small RNA of adr-1; adr-2; eri-6 mutants. We also analyzed the transcriptomes of these mutants using total RNAseq and mRNAseq. mRNAseq was done in mutants depleted for the RNAi factors drh-1 and nrde-3, or control RNAi
Project description:Years after the discovery that Dicer is a key enzyme in gene-silencing, the role of its helicase domain remains enigmatic. Here we show that this domain is critical for accumulation of certain endogenous small interfering RNAs (endo-siRNAs) in C. elegans. The domain is required for the production of the direct products of Dicer, or primary endo-siRNAs, and consequently, affects levels of downstream intermediates, the secondary endo-siRNAs. Consistent with the role of endo-siRNAs in silencing, their loss correlates with an increase in cognate mRNA levels. We find that the helicase domain of Dicer is not required for microRNA (miRNA) processing, or RNA interference following exposure to exogenous double-stranded RNA. Comparisons of wildtype and helicase-defective strains using deep-sequencing analyses show that the helicase domain is required by a subset of annotated endo-siRNAs, in particular, those associated with the slightly longer 26 nucleotide small RNA species containing a 5M-bM-^@M-^Y guanosine. We reintroduced either wildtype Dicer, or Dicer harboring a mutation (K39A) in it's helicase domain, into dcr-1(ok247) mutant worms via transgene rescue. We then used high-throughput sequencing to compare levels of small RNAs present in each of these strains.