Project description:The transposon silencing piRNAs are produced from precursors that are encoded by heterochromatic clusters and processed in the perinuclear nuage. We show that the Drosophila nuclear DEAD box protein UAP56, previously implicated in mRNA splicing and nuclear export, co-localizes with the cluster-associated HP1 homologue Rhino. Prominent nuclear foci containing Rhi and UAP56 localize directly across the nuclear envelope from Vasa, a conserved DEAD box protein and core nuage component that is required for piRNA production, and piRNA precursors immunoprecipitate with both UAP56 and Vasa. A uap56 point mutation that prevents UAP56 protein co-localization with Rhino also disrupts nuage organization, transposon silencing, and expression of dual strand piRNA clusters. By contrast, this allele significantly increases ectopic piRNAs from protein coding genes. We therefore propose that UAP56 and Vasa organize a piRNA-processing compartment that spans the nuclear envelope, increasing the efficiency and specificity of piRNA biogenesis. 3 replicates of each sample (uap56, vasa), total RNA samples hybridized to tiling array.
Project description:The transposon silencing piRNAs are produced from precursors that are encoded by heterochromatic clusters and processed in the perinuclear nuage. We show that the Drosophila nuclear DEAD box protein UAP56, previously implicated in mRNA splicing and nuclear export, co-localizes with the cluster-associated HP1 homologue Rhino. Prominent nuclear foci containing Rhi and UAP56 localize directly across the nuclear envelope from Vasa, a conserved DEAD box protein and core nuage component that is required for piRNA production, and piRNA precursors immunoprecipitate with both UAP56 and Vasa. A uap56 point mutation that prevents UAP56 protein co-localization with Rhino also disrupts nuage organization, transposon silencing, and expression of dual strand piRNA clusters. By contrast, this allele significantly increases ectopic piRNAs from protein coding genes. We therefore propose that UAP56 and Vasa organize a piRNA-processing compartment that spans the nuclear envelope, increasing the efficiency and specificity of piRNA biogenesis. RNA-Seq: 3 samples examined: w1118, uap56 mutant un-oxidized, uap56 mutant oxidized RIP-Seq: 6 samples: UAP56-Venus, sz-Venus, and wild type w1 with anti-flag and input control each.
Project description:The transposon silencing piRNAs are produced from precursors that are encoded by heterochromatic clusters and processed in the perinuclear nuage. We show that the Drosophila nuclear DEAD box protein UAP56, previously implicated in mRNA splicing and nuclear export, co-localizes with the cluster-associated HP1 homologue Rhino. Prominent nuclear foci containing Rhi and UAP56 localize directly across the nuclear envelope from Vasa, a conserved DEAD box protein and core nuage component that is required for piRNA production, and piRNA precursors immunoprecipitate with both UAP56 and Vasa. A uap56 point mutation that prevents UAP56 protein co-localization with Rhino also disrupts nuage organization, transposon silencing, and expression of dual strand piRNA clusters. By contrast, this allele significantly increases ectopic piRNAs from protein coding genes. We therefore propose that UAP56 and Vasa organize a piRNA-processing compartment that spans the nuclear envelope, increasing the efficiency and specificity of piRNA biogenesis.
Project description:The transposon silencing piRNAs are produced from precursors that are encoded by heterochromatic clusters and processed in the perinuclear nuage. We show that the Drosophila nuclear DEAD box protein UAP56, previously implicated in mRNA splicing and nuclear export, co-localizes with the cluster-associated HP1 homologue Rhino. Prominent nuclear foci containing Rhi and UAP56 localize directly across the nuclear envelope from Vasa, a conserved DEAD box protein and core nuage component that is required for piRNA production, and piRNA precursors immunoprecipitate with both UAP56 and Vasa. A uap56 point mutation that prevents UAP56 protein co-localization with Rhino also disrupts nuage organization, transposon silencing, and expression of dual strand piRNA clusters. By contrast, this allele significantly increases ectopic piRNAs from protein coding genes. We therefore propose that UAP56 and Vasa organize a piRNA-processing compartment that spans the nuclear envelope, increasing the efficiency and specificity of piRNA biogenesis.
Project description:Animal germ cells deploy a specialized small RNA-based silencing system, called the PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, to prevent aberrant expression of transposable elements and maintain genome integrity. In Drosophila germ cells, the majority of piRNA populations originate from dual-strand piRNA clusters, genomic regions highly enriched in transposon fragments, via an elaborate protein machinery centred on the heterochromatin protein 1 homolog, Rhino. Although Rhino binds to peptides carrying trimethylated H3K9 in vitro, it is not fully understood why it only occupies a fraction of H3K9me3-decorated heterochromatin in vivo. Recent work uncovered that Rhino is recruited to a subset of piRNA clusters by the zinc finger protein Kipferl. Here we identify a Kipferl-independent mode of Rhino targeting that is dependent on the histone H3 lysine 27 methyltransferase Enhancer of Zeste and the presence of H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 marks. At Kipferl-independent sites, we find that Rhino, through its dimeric chromodomain, specifically binds to loci marked by both H3K9me3 and H3K27me3. These results expand our understanding of the characteristic binding profile of the heterochromatin protein Rhino and reveal a role for dual histone modifications in defining the specificity of a chromatin binding protein.
Project description:Animal germ cells deploy a specialized small RNA-based silencing system, called the PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, to prevent aberrant expression of transposable elements and maintain genome integrity. In Drosophila germ cells, the majority of piRNA populations originate from dual-strand piRNA clusters, genomic regions highly enriched in transposon fragments, via an elaborate protein machinery centred on the heterochromatin protein 1 homolog, Rhino. Although Rhino binds to peptides carrying trimethylated H3K9 in vitro, it is not fully understood why it only occupies a fraction of H3K9me3-decorated heterochromatin in vivo. Recent work uncovered that Rhino is recruited to a subset of piRNA clusters by the zinc finger protein Kipferl. Here we identify a Kipferl-independent mode of Rhino targeting that is dependent on the histone H3 lysine 27 methyltransferase Enhancer of Zeste and the presence of H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 marks. At Kipferl-independent sites, we find that Rhino, through its dimeric chromodomain, specifically binds to loci marked by both H3K9me3 and H3K27me3. These results expand our understanding of the characteristic binding profile of the heterochromatin protein Rhino and reveal a role for dual histone modifications in defining the specificity of a chromatin binding protein.
Project description:Animal germ cells deploy a specialized small RNA-based silencing system, called the PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, to prevent aberrant expression of transposable elements and maintain genome integrity. In Drosophila germ cells, the majority of piRNA populations originate from dual-strand piRNA clusters, genomic regions highly enriched in transposon fragments, via an elaborate protein machinery centred on the heterochromatin protein 1 homolog, Rhino. Although Rhino binds to peptides carrying trimethylated H3K9 in vitro, it is not fully understood why it only occupies a fraction of H3K9me3-decorated heterochromatin in vivo. Recent work uncovered that Rhino is recruited to a subset of piRNA clusters by the zinc finger protein Kipferl. Here we identify a Kipferl-independent mode of Rhino targeting that is dependent on the histone H3 lysine 27 methyltransferase Enhancer of Zeste and the presence of H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 marks. At Kipferl-independent sites, we find that Rhino, through its dimeric chromodomain, specifically binds to loci marked by both H3K9me3 and H3K27me3. These results expand our understanding of the characteristic binding profile of the heterochromatin protein Rhino and reveal a role for dual histone modifications in defining the specificity of a chromatin binding protein.
Project description:Animal germ cells deploy a specialized small RNA-based silencing system, called the PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, to prevent aberrant expression of transposable elements and maintain genome integrity. In Drosophila germ cells, the majority of piRNA populations originate from dual-strand piRNA clusters, genomic regions highly enriched in transposon fragments, via an elaborate protein machinery centred on the heterochromatin protein 1 homolog, Rhino. Although Rhino binds to peptides carrying trimethylated H3K9 in vitro, it is not fully understood why it only occupies a fraction of H3K9me3-decorated heterochromatin in vivo. Recent work uncovered that Rhino is recruited to a subset of piRNA clusters by the zinc finger protein Kipferl. Here we identify a Kipferl-independent mode of Rhino targeting that is dependent on the histone H3 lysine 27 methyltransferase Enhancer of Zeste and the presence of H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 marks. At Kipferl-independent sites, we find that Rhino, through its dimeric chromodomain, specifically binds to loci marked by both H3K9me3 and H3K27me3. These results expand our understanding of the characteristic binding profile of the heterochromatin protein Rhino and reveal a role for dual histone modifications in defining the specificity of a chromatin binding protein.
Project description:Animal germ cells deploy a specialized small RNA-based silencing system, called the PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, to prevent aberrant expression of transposable elements and maintain genome integrity. In Drosophila germ cells, the majority of piRNA populations originate from dual-strand piRNA clusters, genomic regions highly enriched in transposon fragments, via an elaborate protein machinery centred on the heterochromatin protein 1 homolog, Rhino. Although Rhino binds to peptides carrying trimethylated H3K9 in vitro, it is not fully understood why it only occupies a fraction of H3K9me3-decorated heterochromatin in vivo. Recent work uncovered that Rhino is recruited to a subset of piRNA clusters by the zinc finger protein Kipferl. Here we identify a Kipferl-independent mode of Rhino targeting that is dependent on the histone H3 lysine 27 methyltransferase Enhancer of Zeste and the presence of H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 marks. At Kipferl-independent sites, we find that Rhino, through its dimeric chromodomain, specifically binds to loci marked by both H3K9me3 and H3K27me3. These results expand our understanding of the characteristic binding profile of the heterochromatin protein Rhino and reveal a role for dual histone modifications in defining the specificity of a chromatin binding protein.
Project description:Animal germ cells deploy a specialized small RNA-based silencing system, called the PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, to prevent aberrant expression of transposable elements and maintain genome integrity. In Drosophila germ cells, the majority of piRNA populations originate from dual-strand piRNA clusters, genomic regions highly enriched in transposon fragments, via an elaborate protein machinery centred on the heterochromatin protein 1 homolog, Rhino. Although Rhino binds to peptides carrying trimethylated H3K9 in vitro, it is not fully understood why it only occupies a fraction of H3K9me3-decorated heterochromatin in vivo. Recent work uncovered that Rhino is recruited to a subset of piRNA clusters by the zinc finger protein Kipferl. Here we identify a Kipferl-independent mode of Rhino targeting that is dependent on the histone H3 lysine 27 methyltransferase Enhancer of Zeste and the presence of H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 marks. At Kipferl-independent sites, we find that Rhino, through its dimeric chromodomain, specifically binds to loci marked by both H3K9me3 and H3K27me3. These results expand our understanding of the characteristic binding profile of the heterochromatin protein Rhino and reveal a role for dual histone modifications in defining the specificity of a chromatin binding protein.