“欲穷千里目，更上一层楼”(二十八) ——光寿红(2)

[原文来自：www.ii77.com]

Cell Reports. 2018 May 22;23(8):2482-2494

[转载出处：www.ii77.com]

A cytoplasmic Argonaute protein promotes the inheritance of RNAi.

Fei Xu, Xuezhu Feng, Xiangyang Chen, Chenchun Weng, Qi Yan, Ting Xu, Minjie Hong, and Shouhong Guang

RNAi-elicited gene silencing is heritable and can persist for multiple generations after its initial induction in C. elegans. However, the mechanism by which parental-acquired trait-specific information from RNAi is inherited by the progenies is not fully understood. Here, we identified a cytoplasmic Argonaute protein, WAGO-4, necessary for the inheritance of RNAi. WAGO-4 exhibits asymmetrical translocation to the germline during early embryogenesis, accumulates at the perinuclear foci in the germline, and is required for the inheritance of exogenous RNAi targeting both germline- and soma-expressed genes. WAGO-4 binds to 22G-RNAs and their mRNA targets. Interestingly, WAGO-4-associated endogenous 22G-RNAs target the same cohort of germline genes as CSR-1 and contain untemplated addition of uracil at the 3'ends. The poly(U) polymerase CDE-1 is required for the untemplated uridylation of 22G-RNAs and inheritance of RNAi. Therefore, we conclude that, in addition to the nuclear RNAi pathway, the cytoplasmic RNAi machinery also promotes RNAi inheritance.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 2017 Mar;24(3):258-269. doi: 10.1038/nsmb.3376.

RdRP-synthesized antisense ribosomal siRNAs silence pre-rRNA via the nuclear RNAi pathway.

Xufei Zhou, Xuezhu Feng, Hui Mao, Mu Li, Fei Xu, Kai Hu, and Shouhong Guang

The biogenesis of rRNA drives cell growth and proliferation, but mechanisms that modulate rRNA production remain poorly understood. We have conducted a genetic screen to look for factors that negatively regulate endo-siRNA generation in C. elegans, and identified the suppressor of siRNA (susi)-1and a new class of triphosphorylated antisense ribosomal siRNAs (risiRNAs). In susi-1 mutant, we observed an accumulation of siRNA sequences complementary to 18S and 26S rRNAs. risiRNAs are similar to 22G-RNA, as they are 22 nt in length and have a triphosphorylated guanidine at their 5'-end. The generation of risiRNAs depends on RNA-dependent RNA polymerases, but not the ERI/Dicer complex. risiRNAs act through the nuclear RNAi pathway and guide the Argonaute protein NRDE-3 to the nucleoli, which leads to a downregulation of pre-rRNA expression. Interestingly, low temperature also induces the accumulation of risiRNA, suggesting potential regulatory functions. Cloned SUSI-1 shows homology to Dis3-like exonuclease 2 (Dis3L2) in other organisms, a gene identified as a key exonuclease involved in the 3'to 5' degradation of oligouridylated RNAs. We observed an accumulation of 3'-tail oligouridylated 26S rRNA in susi-1 mutant and in low temperature-treated animals. Consistently, the injection of 3'-tail oligouridylated 26S rRNA elicited a nuclear accumulation of NRDE-3. Our findings thus establish SUSI-1(ceDis3L2) as a suppressor of endo-siRNA generation, identify a novel class of risiRNAs that suppress pre-rRNA expression, and suggest a potential disease mechanism.

Current Biology 2015 Sep 21;25(18):2398-403.

The Nrde pathway mediates small RNA-directed histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Hui Mao, Chengming Zhu, Dandan Zong, Chenchun Weng, Xiangwei Yang, Hui Huang, Dun Liu, Xuezhu Feng, and Shouhong Guang

Small RNA-mediated chromatin modifications have been widely studied in plants and S. pombe. However, direct evidence of small RNA-guided sequence-specific chromatin alterations is scarce in animals. In C. elegans, the nuclear RNAi defective (Nrde) pathway functions to transport siRNA from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, modulate transcription elongation, induce histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) trimethylation, and mediate transgenerational inheritance of RNAi. Here, we show that both exogenous RNAi and NRDE-bound endogenous 22G RNAs can direct sequence-specific histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) trimethylation at targeted loci through the Nrde pathway. The resulting H3K27me3 status can be inherited by progenies for multiple generations. piRNAs and WAGO-1-associated siRNAs induce H3K27 methylation as well. Interestingly, CSR-1-associated endogenous siRNAs fail to trigger H3K27 methylation, whereas exogenous provision of dsRNAs can induce H3K27 methylation at the CSR-1-targeted loci via the Nrde pathway. We further observed distinct genetic requirements of H3K9 and H3K27 trimethylation. While set-25 and met-2 are required for K9 methylation, mes-2 is required for K27 methylation. The depletion of mes-2 leads to a nuclear RNAi defective phenotype. These results indicate that dsRNA-triggered chromatin modification is a sequence-specific response that engages the Nrde pathway in C. elegans.

想与光寿红“面对面”探讨交流吗？

点击“阅读原文”，即可报名参加“第四届发育和疾病的表观遗传学上海国际研讨会 ”。