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Taxonomy of introns and the evolution of minor introns.

ABSTRACT: Classification of introns, which is crucial to understanding their evolution and splicing, has historically been binary and has resulted in the naming of major and minor introns that are spliced by their namesake spliceosome. However, a broad range of intron consensus sequences exist, leading us to here reclassify introns as minor, minor-like, hybrid, major-like, major and non-canonical introns in 263 species across six eukaryotic supergroups. Through intron orthology analysis, we discovered that minor-like introns are a transitory node for intron conversion across evolution. Despite close resemblance of their consensus sequences to minor introns, these introns possess an AG dinucleotide at the -1 and -2 position of the 5' splice site, a salient feature of major introns. Through combined analysis of CoLa-seq, CLIP-seq for major and minor spliceosome components, and RNAseq from samples in which the minor spliceosome is inhibited we found that minor-like introns are also an intermediate class from a splicing mechanism perspective. Importantly, this analysis has provided insight into the sequence elements that have evolved to make minor-like introns amenable to recognition by both minor and major spliceosome components. We hope that this revised intron classification provides a new framework to study intron evolution and splicing.

SUBMITTER: Olthof AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11347168 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Taxonomy of introns and the evolution of minor introns.

Olthof Anouk M AM Schwoerer Charles F CF Girardini Kaitlin N KN Weber Audrey L AL Doggett Karen K Mieruszynski Stephen S Heath Joan K JK Moore Timothy E TE Biran Jakob J Kanadia Rahul N RN

Nucleic acids research 20240801 15

Classification of introns, which is crucial to understanding their evolution and splicing, has historically been binary and has resulted in the naming of major and minor introns that are spliced by their namesake spliceosome. However, a broad range of intron consensus sequences exist, leading us to here reclassify introns as minor, minor-like, hybrid, major-like, major and non-canonical introns in 263 species across six eukaryotic supergroups. Through intron orthology analysis, we discovered tha ...[more]

PMID: 38943346

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Project description:BackgroundMutations in minor spliceosome components such as U12 snRNA (cerebellar ataxia) and U4atac snRNA (microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type 1 (MOPD1)) result in tissue-specific symptoms. Given that the minor spliceosome is ubiquitously expressed, we hypothesized that these restricted phenotypes might be caused by the tissue-specific regulation of the minor spliceosome targets, i.e. minor intron-containing genes (MIGs). The current model of inefficient splicing is thought to apply to the regulation of the ~ 500 MIGs identified in the U12DB. However this database was created more than 10 years ago. Therefore, we first wanted to revisit the classification of minor introns in light of the most recent reference genome. We then sought to address specificity of MIG expression, minor intron retention, and alternative splicing (AS) across mouse and human tissues.ResultsWe employed position-weight matrices to obtain a comprehensive updated list of minor introns, consisting of 722 mouse and 770 human minor introns. These can be found in the Minor Intron DataBase (MIDB). Besides identification of 99% of the minor introns found in the U12DB, we also discovered ~ 150 new MIGs. We then analyzed the RNAseq data from eleven different mouse tissues, which revealed tissue-specific MIG expression and minor intron retention. Additionally, many minor introns were efficiently spliced compared to their flanking major introns. Finally, we identified several novel AS events across minor introns in both mouse and human, which were also tissue-dependent. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that several of the AS events could result in the production of novel tissue-specific proteins. Moreover, like the major introns, we found that these AS events were more prevalent in long minor introns, while retention was favoured in shorter introns.ConclusionHere we show that minor intron splicing and AS across minor introns is a highly organised process that might be regulated in coordination with the major spliceosome in a tissue-specific manner. We have provided a framework to further study the impact of the minor spliceosome and the regulation of MIG expression. These findings may shed light on the mechanism underlying tissue-specific phenotypes in diseases associated with minor spliceosome inactivation. MIDB can be accessed at https://midb.pnb.uconn.edu .

Project description:U12-type introns were originally recognized based on their highly conserved non-consensus AT-AC termini1,2, which are spliced by a separate minor spliceosome3,4. Padgett and Krainer groups later showed that terminal dinucleotides do not differentiate U12-type from U2-type introns, as there are U12-type introns with GT-AG termini and U2-type introns with AT-AC termini5,6. Rather, U12-type introns are recognized by their divergent and highly conserved 5’ splice site (5’ss) and branch point sequences, which both differ from the consensus sequences found in U2-type introns. To date, no functional differences have been ascribed to AT-AC or GT-AG subtypes of U12-type introns, nor have RNAseq analyses of minor spliceosome diseases reported any subtype specificity. Here, we describe a novel protein component of the minor spliceosome, encoded by the CENATAC locus, that is required for accurate splicing of AT-AC but not GT-AG type minor introns. CENATAC was initially identified in a subset of Mosaic Variegated Aneuploidy (MVA) patients with mutations in CENATAC, which lead to chromosome congression defects during mitosis. Earlier large-scale proteomic analyses tentatively classified CENATAC as a spliceosome component and phylogenetic analyses showed co-segregation of CENATAC with minor spliceosome components. Targeted depletion of CENATAC in HeLa cells, followed by RNAseq revealed global retention of AT-AC minor subtype introns with more than 60% showing statistically significant (up to 90%) intron retention (IR). Additionally, U12-type introns with 5’-AT, but divergent 3’-terminal dinucleotides also showed significant IR. We also detected cryptic U2-type splice site activation near affected AT-AC introns. In contrast, about 10% of GT-AG subtype introns responded to CENATAC depletion. Co-IP experiments revealed that CENATAC is not a U11/U12 di-snRNP component as expected for a specificity factor, but rather associates with the U4atac/U6atac.U5 tri-snRNP via interaction with PRPF3/4, suggesting a role for minor tri-snRNP in initial 5’ss recognition. CENATAC also interacts with TXNL4B, a paralog of TXNL4A in the major tri-snRNP. Finally, several genes encoding chromosome congression factors harbor U12 AT-AC-type introns that were highly retained in CENATAC depleted cells, potentially explaining the aneuploidy phenotype observed in MVA patients.

Dataset Information

Taxonomy of introns and the evolution of minor introns.

Publications

Taxonomy of introns and the evolution of minor introns.

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