Unknown,Transcriptomics,Genomics,Proteomics

Dataset Information

Function, targets and evolution of Caenorhabditis elegans piRNAs (small RNA-Seq)

ABSTRACT: piRNAs are required to maintain germline integrity and fertility but their mechanism of action is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that C. elegans piRNAs silence transcripts in trans through imperfectly complementary sites. We find that target silencing is independent of Piwi endonuclease activity or “slicing”. Instead, we show that piRNAs initiate a localized secondary endogenous small interfering RNA (endo-siRNA) response. Endogenous protein-coding gene, pseudogene and transposon transcripts exhibit Piwi-dependent endo-siRNAs at sites complementary to piRNAs and are derepressed in Piwi mutants. Genomic loci of piRNA biogenesis are depleted of protein-coding genes but not pseudogenes or transposons. Our data suggest that nematode piRNA clusters are evolving to generate piRNAs against active mobile elements. Thus, piRNAs provide heritable, sequence-specific triggers for RNAi in C. elegans. 7 small RNA libraries were sequenced as part of 25 flow cell lanes on the Illumina GA II platform. Samples were treated with tobacco acid pyrophosphatase to allow cloning of small RNAs with a 5'-triphosphate. Samples were labelled for multiplexing using 4-bp 5'-barcodes or barcodes included in Illumina TruSeq adapters. In most cases a single flow cell lane included several multiplexed libraries.

ORGANISM(S): Caenorhabditis elegans

SUBMITTER: Leonard Goldstein

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-28617 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress

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Publications

Function, targets, and evolution of Caenorhabditis elegans piRNAs.

Bagijn Marloes P MP Goldstein Leonard D LD Sapetschnig Alexandra A Weick Eva-Maria EM Bouasker Samir S Lehrbach Nicolas J NJ Simard Martin J MJ Miska Eric A EA

Science (New York, N.Y.) 20120614 6094

Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are small RNAs required to maintain germline integrity and fertility, but their mechanism of action is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that Caenorhabditis elegans piRNAs silence transcripts in trans through imperfectly complementary sites. Target silencing is independent of Piwi endonuclease activity or "slicing." Instead, piRNAs initiate a localized secondary endogenous small interfering RNA (endo-siRNA) response. Endogenous protein-coding gene and transpos ...[more]

PMID: 22700655

Publication: 1/2

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Project description:Transposable elements are a serious threat for genome integrity and their control via small RNA mediated silencing pathways is an ancient strategy. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has two silencing mechanisms that repress TEs expression: endogenous siRNAs (esiRNAs or endo-siRNAs) and Piwi-interacting small RNAs (piRNAs). The biogenesis of endo-siRNAs involves Loqs-PD, which acts predominantly during processing of dsRNA by Dcr-2, and R2D2 that primarily helps to direct siRNAs for loading into Ago2. We provide deep sequencing evidence consistent with the idea that R2D2 and Loqs-PD can function in part redundantly. Certain transposons display a preference for either dsRBD-protein for production or loading; this appeared to correlate neither with overall abundance, classification of the transposon or a specific site of genomic origin. The endo-siRNA biogenesis pathway in the germline operates according to the same principles as the existing model for the soma, and its impairment does not significantly affect piRNAs. Expanding the analysis, we confirmed the occurrence of somatic piRNA-like RNAs (pilRNAs) that show a ping-pong signature. We detected expression of the Piwi-family protein mRNAs only barely above background, indicating that the somatic pilRNAs may arise from a small sub-population of somatic cells that express a functional piRNA pathway. small RNA sampling experiment; small RNAs were prepared from head & thorax as well as dissected ovaries of Adult female Drosophila melanogaster. We used homozygous mutants of the dsRBD proteins Loqs and r2d2 to determine their contribution to the biogenesis of transposon-derived small RNAs. Heterozygous mutant animals served as control. For each RNA sample, we performed one deep-sequencing run without any treatment, and in parallel one sequencing run after periodate oxidation and beta-elimination. After this treatment, only Ago2, Piwi, Aub and Ago3-loaded small RNAs remain as they carry a 2'-O-methyl modification at their 3'-end. This helps to determine the loading status of the small RNAs detected. In total 8 different RNA samples were prepared and 16 libraries were sequenced.

Project description:PIWI-clade Argonaute proteins silence transposon expression in animal gonads. Their target specificity is defined by bound ~23-30nt piRNAs that are processed from single-stranded precursor transcripts via two distinct pathways. Primary piRNAs are defined by the endo-nuclease Zucchini, while biogenesis of secondary piRNAs depends on piRNA-guided transcript cleavage and results in piRNA amplification. Here, we analyze the inter-dependencies between these piRNA biogenesis pathways in the developing Drosophila ovary. We show that secondary piRNA-guided target slicing is the predominant mechanism that specifies transcripts—including those from piRNA clusters—as primary piRNA precursors and that defines the spectrum of Piwi-bound piRNAs in germline cells. Post-transcriptional silencing in the cytoplasm therefore enforces nuclear, transcriptional target silencing, which ensures the tight suppression of transposons during oogenesis. As target slicing also defines the nuclear piRNA pool during mouse spermatogenesis, our findings uncover an unexpected conceptual similarity between the mouse and fly piRNA pathways. To understand the hierarchical order of primary versus secondary piRNA biogenesis in Drosophila ovaries, we sequenced piRNAs bound to total-Piwi, germline-Piwi, Aubergine and Argonaute3 from ovaries of germline specific knockdowns of control, piwi, aub, ago3 single knockdowns and aub/ago3 double knockdowns. To determine changes in Transposable Element (TE) transcription or TE RNA steady state in perturbed piRNA pathway conditions, we performed Pol2-ChIP-sequencing and polyA bound RNA-sequencing from ovaries of multiple germline knockdown genotypes. We also sequenced genomic DNA from ovaries of control knockdowns to experimentally estimate the TE copy number in our genetic background. Finally, we used CAP-seq from germline specific Piwi depletions to identify the Transcriptional Start Sites (TSS) in TEs in a deregulated background. Replicates are labeled with R1, R2, R3, R4 where indicated.

Dataset Information

Function, targets and evolution of Caenorhabditis elegans piRNAs (small RNA-Seq)

Publications

Function, targets, and evolution of Caenorhabditis elegans piRNAs.

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