Bacterial Argonaute samples the transcriptome to identify foreign DNA
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) Cereibacter sphaeroides ATCC 17029 Cereibacter sphaeroides ATCC 17025
PROVIDER: GSE49865 | GEO | 2013/09/12
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA215165
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Eukaryotic Argonautes bind small RNAs and use them as guides to find complementary RNA targets and induce gene silencing. Though homologs of eukaryotic Argonautes are present in many bacteria and archaea their small RNA partners and functions are unknown. We found that the Argonaute of Rhodobacter sphaeroides (RsAgo) associates with 15-19 nt small RNAs that correspond to the majority of transcripts. RsAgo also binds single-stranded 22-24 nt DNA molecules that are complementary to the small RNAs and enriched in sequences derived from exogenous plasmids as well as genome-encoded foreign nucleic acids such as transposons and phage genes. Expression of RsAgo in the heterologous E. coli system leads to formation of plasmid–derived small RNA and DNA and plasmid degradation. In a R. sphaeroides mutant lacking RsAgo, expression of plasmid-encoded genes is elevated, while other genes are unaffected. Our results indicate that RNAi-related processes found in eukaryotes are also conserved in bacteria and target foreign nucleic acids. Small RNA and small DNA from purified RsAgo expressed in Rhodobacter sphaeroides ATCC17025 ("strain 25") and E. coli BL21(DE3) Total small RNA (13-30nt) from R. sphaeroides ATCC17025 and ATCC17029 (wild-type; RsAgo mutant; containing either empty or RsAgo-expressing plasmid) Total ribosomal RNA-depleted RNA from wild type or RsAgo mutant R. sphaeroides ATCC17025
2013-09-12 | E-GEOD-49865 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Epigenetic inheritance is the transmission of information independently of the nucleotide sequence of the genome. A fundamental question in biology is to what extent does epigenetics contribute to trans-generational inheritance. Here we investigate the role of Argonaute-small-RNA pathways in epigenetic inheritance in the nematode C. elegans. Argonautes present their guide RNAs for base-pairing with target sequences and, upon binding, can cleave the target RNA and/or recruit cofactors that mediate post-transcriptional or transcriptional silencing 1,2. Previous studies have shown that Argonaute small-RNA pathways reinforce and maintain epigenetic silencing in C. elegans 3-5. For example, the conserved PIWI-related Argonaute PRG-1 initiates a remarkably stable mode of epigenetic silencing, termed RNA-induced epigenetic silencing (RNAe) 3. Alleles that are silenced by RNAe send trans-acting Argonaute-small-RNA signals that can act in a sequence-specific manner to induce the permanent Epigenetic inheritance is the transmission of information independently of the nucleotide sequence of the genome. A fundamental question in biology is to what extent does epigenetics contribute to trans-generational inheritance. Here we investigate the role of Argonaute-small-RNA pathways in epigenetic inheritance in the nematode C. elegans. Argonautes present their guide RNAs for base-pairing with target sequences and, upon binding, can cleave the target RNA and/or recruit cofactors that mediate post-transcriptional or transcriptional silencing 1,2. Previous studies have shown that Argonaute small-RNA pathways reinforce and maintain epigenetic silencing in C. elegans 3-5. For example, the conserved PIWI-related Argonaute PRG-1 initiates a remarkably stable mode of epigenetic silencing, termed RNA-induced epigenetic silencing (RNAe) 3. Alleles that are silenced by RNAe send trans-acting Argonaute-small-RNA signals that can act in a sequence-specific manner to induce the permanent silencing of homologous genes 3. Here we explore an opposite phenomenon, RNA-induced gene activation (RNAa), in which an expressed gene provides a sequence-specific signal that can activate a silent homologous gene. We provide evidence that the CSR-1 Argonaute is required for this trans-activating signal. CSR-1 engages antisense small RNAs complementary to most, if not all, germline-expressed mRNAs 6,7. Moreover, we show that the ability of a foreign sequence to mediate RNAa is correlated with acquisition of CSR-1-associated small RNAs targeting the foreign sequence. Thus CSR-1 small RNAs constitute a memory of previous germline-gene expression that protects endogenous genes from epigenetic silencing. These findings reveal a remarkably sophisticated epigenetic surveillance mechanism that monitors the flow of transgenerational information ensuring that progeny express only those genes also expressed in their parents. Examine small RNA population changes in different transgene lines
2013-12-23 | E-GEOD-49532 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Small RNAs regulate chromatin modifications such as DNA methylation and gene silencing across eukaryotic genomes. In plants, RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) requires 24-nucleotide (nt) small RNAs (siRNAs) that bind ARGONAUTE4 (AGO4) and target genomic regions for silencing. It also requires non-coding RNAs transcribed by RNA POLYMERASE V (Pol V), although their function is largely unknown. We utilized a modified global nuclear run-on (GRO) protocol followed by deep sequencing to capture Pol V nascent transcripts genome-wide. We uncovered unique characteristics of Pol V RNAs, including a uracil (U) common at position 10. This uracil was complementary to the 5’ adenine found in many AGO4-bound 24-nt siRNAs and was eliminated in an siRNA-deficient mutant. This indicates co-transcriptional slicing of Pol V transcripts by AGO4-bound siRNAs. Pol V transcript slicing also required the elongation factor SPT5L. These results highlight a novel step in RNA-mediated transcriptional gene silencing, which is a conserved process in many eukaryotes.
2018-01-29 | GSE100010 | GEO
Project description:Members of the conserved Argonaute protein family use small RNA guides to find their mRNA targets to regulate gene expression and suppress mobile genetic elements in eukaryotes. Argonautes are also present in many bacterial and archaeal species. Unlike eukaryotic proteins, several studied prokaryotic Argonautes use small DNA guides to cleave DNA, a process dubbed DNA interference. However, the natural functions and targets of DNA interference are poorly understood and the mechanisms of DNA guide generation and target discrimination remain unknown. Here, we studied the in vivo activities of a bacterial Argonaute nuclease CbAgo and demonstrated that it induces cleavage of multicopy genetic elements, including plasmids, transposons and repetitive chromosomal loci. Generation of small DNA guides employed by CbAgo requires cooperation between its intrinsic endonuclease activity and the cellular double-strand break repair machinery. The mechanism of guide generation ensures that small DNA guides are enriched in sequences that target foreign DNA and endows CbAgo with capacity to eliminate plasmids and fight phage infection. Similar principles may underlie the specificity of self-nonself discrimination by diverse defense systems in prokaryotes.
2020-07-30 | GSE148595 | GEO
Project description:Members of the conserved Argonaute protein family use small RNA guides to find their mRNA targets to regulate gene expression and suppress mobile genetic elements in eukaryotes. Argonautes are also present in many bacterial and archaeal species. Unlike eukaryotic proteins, several studied prokaryotic Argonautes use small DNA guides to cleave DNA, a process dubbed DNA interference. However, the natural functions and targets of DNA interference are poorly understood and the mechanisms of DNA guide generation and target discrimination remain unknown. Here, we studied the in vivo activities of a bacterial Argonaute nuclease CbAgo and demonstrated that it induces cleavage of multicopy genetic elements, including plasmids, transposons and repetitive chromosomal loci. Generation of small DNA guides employed by CbAgo requires cooperation between its intrinsic endonuclease activity and the cellular double-strand break repair machinery. The mechanism of guide generation ensures that small DNA guides are enriched in sequences that target foreign DNA and endows CbAgo with capacity to eliminate plasmids and fight phage infection. Similar principles may underlie the specificity of self-nonself discrimination by diverse defense systems in prokaryotes.
2020-07-30 | GSE148594 | GEO
Project description:Eukaryotic cells express several classes of small RNAs that regulate gene expression and ensure genome maintenance. Endogenous siRNAs (endo-siRNAs) and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) mainly control gene and transposon expression in the germline, while microRNAs (miRNAs) generally function in post-transcriptional gene silencing in both somatic and germline cells. To provide an evolutionary and developmental perspective on small RNA pathways in nematodes, we identified and characterized known and novel small RNA classes through gametogenesis and embryo development in the parasitic nematode Ascaris suum and compared them with known small RNAs of Caenorhabditis elegans. piRNAs, Piwi-clade Argonautes, and other proteins associated with the piRNA pathway have been lost in Ascaris. miRNAs are synthesized immediately following fertilization in utero, prior to pronuclear fusion, and before the first cleavage of the zygote. This is the earliest expression of small RNAs ever described at a developmental stage long thought to be transcriptionally quiescent. A comparison of the two classes of Ascaris endo-siRNAs, 22G-RNAs and 26G-RNAs, to those in C. elegans, suggests great diversification and plasticity in the use of small RNA pathways during spermatogenesis in different nematodes. Our data reveal conserved characteristics of nematode small RNAs as well as features unique to Ascaris that illustrate significant flexibility in the use of small RNAs pathways, some of which are likely an adaptation to AscarisM-bM-^@M-^Y life cycle and parasitism. We constructed and analyzed 51 libraries from discrete regions of gametogenesis and synchronized stages of embryo development in the parasitic nematode Ascaris, using three types of small RNA libraries preparation methods: 1) 28 libraries of 18-34 or 18-40 nt RNAs with a 5M-bM-^@M-^Y monophosphate (5M-bM-^@M-^Y monophosphate libraries), 2) 4 libraries of 18-34 nt RNAs with a 5M-bM-^@M-^Y monophosphate but treated with periodate to enrich for small RNAs with 3M-bM-^@M-^Y end modifications (5M-bM-^@M-^Y monophosphate, 3M-bM-^@M-^Y end modified), and 3) 19 libraries of 18-28 or 18-40 nt RNAs with a 5M-bM-^@M-^Y triphosphate, diphosphate, or monophosphate (5M-bM-^@M-^Y allphosphate). These libraries enabled us to identify different small RNAs, characterize their different 5M-bM-^@M-^Y and 3M-bM-^@M-^Y ends, and their expression profiles through gametogenesis and embryogenesis.
2011-06-16 | E-GEOD-26955 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Piwi Argonautes and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) mediate genome defense by targeting transposons. However, many piRNA species lack obvious sequence complementarity to transposons or other loci. For example, only one C. elegans transposon is a known piRNA target. Here we show that, in mutants lacking the Piwi Argonaute PRG-1 and associated piRNAs (21U-RNAs), many silent loci in the germline exhibit increased levels of mRNA expression and depletion of an amplified RNAdependent RNA polymerase (RdRP)-derived species of small RNA termed 22G-RNAs. Sequences depleted of 22G-RNAs are enriched nearby potential target sites that base pair imperfectly but extensively to 21U-RNAs. We show that PRG-1 is required to initiate, but not to maintain, silencing of transgenes engineered to contain complementarity to endogenous 21U-RNAs. Our findings support a model in which C. elegans piRNAs utilize their enormous repertoire of targeting capacity to scan the germline transcriptome for foreign sequences, while endogenous germline-expressed genes are actively protected from piRNA-induced silencing. Examine small RNA population changes in prg-1 and rescued strains
2012-09-01 | E-GEOD-38723 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:RNA silencing is a conserved mechanism in which small RNAs trigger various forms of sequence specific gene silencing by guiding Argonaute complexes to target RNAs via base-pairing. RNA silencing is thought to have evolved as a form of nucleic-acid-based immunity to inactivate viruses and transposable elements (TEs). Although the activity of TEs in animals has been thought to be largely restricted to the germline, recent studies have shown that they may also actively transpose in somatic cells, creating somatic mosaicism in animals3. In the Drosophila germline, piRNAs arise from repetitive intergenic elements including retrotransposons by a Dicer-independent pathway and function through the PIWI subfamily of Argonautes to ensure silencing of retrotransposons. Here we show that in Drosophila cultured S2 cells, Argonaute2 (AGO2), an AGO subfamily member of Argonautes, associates with endogenous small RNAs of 20-22 nucleotides in length, which we have collectively named esiRNAs (endogenous siRNAs). esiRNAs can be divided into two groups: one that mainly corresponds to a subset of retrotransposons, and the other that arises from stem-loop structures. esiRNAs are produced in a Dicer-2-dependent manner from distinctive genomic loci, are modified at their 3’ ends and can direct AGO2 to cleave target RNAs. Depletion of Dicer2 or AGO2 in S2 cells coincided with higher levels of retrotransposon transcripts. Together, our findings indicate that in Drosophila, different types of small RNAs and Argonautes are utilized to repress retrotransposons in germline and somatic cells. Keywords: AGO2, small RNA 454 sequencing - high throughput
2008-05-08 | GSE10277 | GEO
Project description:Small RNAs are common and effective modulators of gene expression in eukaryotic organisms. To characterize the small RNAs expressed during rice seed development, massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS) was performed, resulting in the obtainment of 22-nt sequence signatures. Through integrative analysis,novel miRNAs were identified mostly based on the miRNA* accumulation.
2009-02-02 | GSE11974 | GEO
Project description:Organisms exhibit a fascinating array of gene-silencing pathways, which have evolved in part, to confront invasive nucleic acids such as transposons and viruses. A key question raised by the existence of these pathways is how do they distinguish M-bM-^@M-^\selfM-bM-^@M-^] from M-bM-^@M-^\non-selfM-bM-^@M-^] nucleic acids? Evidence exists for a number of mechanisms that might facilitate detection of foreign sequences including mechanisms that sense copy-number, unpaired DNA, or aberrant RNA (e.g.dsRNA). Here we describe an RNA-induced epigenetic silencing pathway, RNAe, that permanently silences single-copy transgenes. We show that the Piwi Argonaute PRG-1 and its genomically encoded piRNA cofactors initiate RNAe, while maintenance depends on chromatin factors and the WAGO Argonaute pathway. Our findings support a model in which PRG-1 scans for foreign sequences, while two other Argonaute pathways serve as epigenetic memories of "self" and "non-self" RNAs. These findings suggest how organisms may utilize RNAi-related mechanisms not only to recognize and silence foreign genes, but also to keep inventory of all genes expressed in the germ-line. Examine small RNA population changes in different transgene lines. FLAG::WAGO-9 was immunoprecipitated from 20 mg of lysate essentially as described (Gu et al., 2009). Small RNAs were extracted from WAGO-9 immune complexes as well as a portion of the input lysate, gel-purified, pre-treated with TAP, cloned and sequenced as described (Gu et al., 2009).
2012-07-17 | E-GEOD-38724 | biostudies-arrayexpress