Project description:Ciliates undergo developmentally programmed genome elimination, in which small RNAs direct the removal of target DNA segments, including transposable elements. At each sexual generation, the development of the macronucleus (MAC) requires massive and reproducible elimination of a large proportion of the germline micronuclear (MIC) genome, leading to a highly streamlined somatic MAC genome. 25-nt long scnRNAs are produced from the entire germline MIC genome during meiosis, and this initial complex small RNA population is then transported to the maternal MAC, where selection of scnRNAs corresponding to germline (MIC)-specific sequences is thought to take place. Selected scnRNAs, loaded onto the PIWI protein Ptiwi09, guide the deposition of histone H3 post-translational modifications (H3K9me3 and H3K27me3) onto transposable elements in the developing macronucleus, ultimately triggering their specific elimination. How germline-specific MIC scnRNAs are selected remains to be determined. Here, we provide important mechanistic insights into the scnRNA selection pathway by identifying a Paramecium homolog of Gametocyte specific factor 1 (Gtsf1) as essential for the selective degradation of scnRNAs corresponding to retained somatic MAC sequences. Consistently, we also show that Gstf1 is exclusively localized in the maternal macronucleus, where scnRNA selection is presumed to occur, and associates with the scnRNA-binding protein Ptiwi09. Furthermore, Gtsf1 is necessary for DNA elimination and correct H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 localization in the new developing macronucleus, demonstrating that the scnRNA selection process is important for genome elimination. We propose that Gtsf1 is required for the coordinated degradation of Ptiwi09-scnRNA complexes that pair with nascent RNA transcribed from the maternal MAC genome, similarly to the mechanism suggested for microRNA target-directed degradation in metazoans.
Project description:5-methyl-cytosine DNA methylation regulates gene expression and developmental programming in a broad range of eukaryotes. However, its presence and potential roles in ciliates, complex single-celled eukaryotes with germline-somatic genome specialization via nuclear dimorphism, are largely uncharted. While canonical cytosine methyltransferases have not been discovered in published ciliate genomes, recent studies performed in the stichotrichous ciliate Oxytricha trifallax suggest de novo cytosine methylation during macronuclear development. In this study, we applied bisfulfite genome sequencing, DNA mass spectrometry and antibody-based fluorescence detection to investigate the presence of DNA methylation in Paramecium tetraurelia. While the antibody-based methods suggest cytosine methylation, DNA mass spectrometry and bisulfite sequencing reveal that levels are actually below the limit of detection. Our results suggest that Paramecium does not utilize 5-methyl-cytosine DNA methylation as an integral part of its epigenetic arsenal.
Project description:Ciliates undergo developmentally programmed genome elimination, in which small RNAs direct the removal of target DNA segments, including transposable elements. At each sexual generation, the development of the macronucleus (MAC) requires massive and reproducible elimination of a large proportion of the germline micronuclear (MIC) genome, leading to a highly streamlined somatic MAC genome. 25-nt long scnRNAs are produced from the entire germline MIC genome during meiosis, and this initial complex small RNA population is then transported to the maternal MAC, where selection of scnRNAs corresponding to germline (MIC)-specific sequences is thought to take place. Selected scnRNAs, loaded onto the PIWI protein Ptiwi09, guide the deposition of histone H3 post-translational modifications (H3K9me3 and H3K27me3) onto transposable elements in the developing macronucleus, ultimately triggering their specific elimination. How germline-specific MIC scnRNAs are selected remains to be determined. Here, we provide important mechanistic insights into the scnRNA selection pathway by identifying a Paramecium homolog of Gametocyte specific factor 1 (Gtsf1) as essential for the selective degradation of scnRNAs corresponding to retained somatic MAC sequences. Consistently, we also show that Gstf1 is exclusively localized in the maternal macronucleus, where scnRNA selection is presumed to occur, and associates with the scnRNA-binding protein Ptiwi09. Furthermore, Gtsf1 is necessary for DNA elimination and correct H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 localization in the new developing macronucleus, demonstrating that the scnRNA selection process is important for genome elimination. We propose that Gtsf1 is required for the coordinated degradation of Ptiwi09-scnRNA complexes that pair with nascent RNA transcribed from the maternal MAC genome, similarly to the mechanism suggested for microRNA target-directed degradation in metazoans.
Project description:P. tetraurelia, like all ciliates, is a unicellular eukaryote processing two different kinds of nuclei, germline micronuclei (mic) and somatic macronucleus (mac). The diploid micronuclei undergo meiosis during sexual events to transmit the germline genome to the next generation. The highly polyploid mac (~800 n) is responsible for transcription during the life cycle but is lost after fertilisation; the new mic and mac develop from mitotic copies of the zygotic nucleus. During development of the new mac, the germline genome is amplified from 2n to ~800n and is extensively rearranged by two distinct kinds of DNA elimination. The micronuclear 50 to 60 Chromosomes are fragmented into ~200 shorter molecules caped by de novo telomere addition as a result of the imprecise elimination transposons and minisatellites. Moreover, approximately 60,000 short, single-copy elements called internal eliminated sequences (IESs) are precisely removed from coding and non-coding sequences. It was shown that the rearrangements in the developing mac appear to reproduce the rearrangements observed in the old mac, implying the existence of homology dependent cross talk between germline and somatic genomes during sexual event. To understand the molecular mechanisms and the genetic control involved in genome rearrangements, we studied the evolution of the transcriptome during Paramecium tetraurelia sexual reproduction.
Project description:Paramecium cells in stationary phase were treated for deciliation and total mRNA extracted at two time points (45 and 130 minutes) after deciliation. Keywords: Time course analysis of expression during reciliation
Project description:In the ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia, autogamy is a self-fertilization process, during which the zygotic nucleus results from the fusion of two identical gametic nuclei. This phenomenon occurs in response to starvation. It starts with meiosis of the germline nuclei (micronuclei or MIC) and fragmentation of the parental somatic nucleus (macronucleus or MAC). This is followed by mitotic division of one haploid nucleus issued from meiosis to yield two identical gametic nuclei, then karyogamy takes place, followed by mitosis of zygotic nucleus and differentiation of new MICs and MACs from the resulting copies of the zygotic nucleus. Within the developing new MACs, developmentally programmed DNA amplification and extensive genome rearrangements (precise excision of short non coding Internal Eliminated Sequences and chromosome fragmentation associated with the imprecise elimination of repetitive DNA) give rise to the highly polyploid somatic genome. To gain further insight into the complex regulation of these successive steps, we used whole genome microarrays to study the different gene networks that become activated throughout autogamy.
Project description:In the ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia, autogamy is a self-fertilization process, during which the zygotic nucleus results from the fusion of two identical gametic nuclei. This phenomenon occurs in response to starvation. It starts with meiosis of the germline nuclei (micronuclei or MIC) and fragmentation of the parental somatic nucleus (macronucleus or MAC). This is followed by mitotic division of one haploid nucleus issued from meiosis to yield two identical gametic nuclei, then karyogamy takes place, followed by mitosis of zygotic nucleus and differentiation of new MICs and MACs from the resulting copies of the zygotic nucleus. Within the developing new MACs, developmentally programmed DNA amplification and extensive genome rearrangements (precise excision of short non coding Internal Eliminated Sequences and chromosome fragmentation associated with the imprecise elimination of repetitive DNA) give rise to the highly polyploid somatic genome. To gain further insight into the complex regulation of these successive steps, we used whole genome microarrays to study the different gene networks that become activated throughout autogamy.