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Miller DE, Dorador AP, Van Vaerenberghe K, Li A, Grantham EK, Cerbin S, Cummings C, Barragan M, Egidy RR, Scott AR, Hall KE, Perera A, Gilliland WD, Hawley RS, Blumenstiel JP. Off-target piRNA gene silencing in Drosophila melanogaster rescued by a transposable element insertion. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010598. [PMID: 36809339 PMCID: PMC9983838 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TE) are selfish genetic elements that can cause harmful mutations. In Drosophila, it has been estimated that half of all spontaneous visible marker phenotypes are mutations caused by TE insertions. Several factors likely limit the accumulation of exponentially amplifying TEs within genomes. First, synergistic interactions between TEs that amplify their harm with increasing copy number are proposed to limit TE copy number. However, the nature of this synergy is poorly understood. Second, because of the harm posed by TEs, eukaryotes have evolved systems of small RNA-based genome defense to limit transposition. However, as in all immune systems, there is a cost of autoimmunity and small RNA-based systems that silence TEs can inadvertently silence genes flanking TE insertions. In a screen for essential meiotic genes in Drosophila melanogaster, a truncated Doc retrotransposon within a neighboring gene was found to trigger the germline silencing of ald, the Drosophila Mps1 homolog, a gene essential for proper chromosome segregation in meiosis. A subsequent screen for suppressors of this silencing identified a new insertion of a Hobo DNA transposon in the same neighboring gene. Here we describe how the original Doc insertion triggers flanking piRNA biogenesis and local gene silencing. We show that this local gene silencing occurs in cis and is dependent on deadlock, a component of the Rhino-Deadlock-Cutoff (RDC) complex, to trigger dual-strand piRNA biogenesis at TE insertions. We further show how the additional Hobo insertion leads to de-silencing by reducing flanking piRNA biogenesis triggered by the original Doc insertion. These results support a model of TE-mediated gene silencing by piRNA biogenesis in cis that depends on local determinants of transcription. This may explain complex patterns of off-target gene silencing triggered by TEs within populations and in the laboratory. It also provides a mechanism of sign epistasis among TE insertions, illuminates the complex nature of their interactions and supports a model in which off-target gene silencing shapes the evolution of the RDC complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danny E. Miller
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, United States of America
- Division of Genetic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Ana P. Dorador
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Kelley Van Vaerenberghe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America
| | - Angela Li
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Emily K. Grantham
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Stefan Cerbin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Celeste Cummings
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Marilyn Barragan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Rhonda R. Egidy
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Allison R. Scott
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Kate E. Hall
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Anoja Perera
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - William D. Gilliland
- Department of Biological Sciences, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - R. Scott Hawley
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Justin P. Blumenstiel
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Kelleher ES, Azevedo RBR, Zheng Y. The Evolution of Small-RNA-Mediated Silencing of an Invading Transposable Element. Genome Biol Evol 2018; 10:3038-3057. [PMID: 30252073 PMCID: PMC6404463 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evy218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are genomic parasites that impose fitness costs on their
hosts by producing deleterious mutations and disrupting gametogenesis. Host genomes avoid
these costs by regulating TE activity, particularly in germline cells where new insertions
are heritable and TEs are exceptionally active. However, the capacity of different
TE-associated fitness costs to select for repression in the host, and the role of
selection in the evolution of TE regulation more generally remain controversial. In this
study, we use forward, individual-based simulations to examine the evolution of
small-RNA-mediated TE regulation, a conserved mechanism for TE repression that is employed
by both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. To design and parameterize a biologically realistic
model, we drew on an extensive survey of empirical studies of the transposition and
regulation of P-element DNA transposons in Drosophila
melanogaster. We observed that even under conservative assumptions, where
small-RNA-mediated regulation reduces transposition only, repression evolves rapidly and
adaptively after the genome is invaded by a new TE in simulated populations. We further
show that the spread of repressor alleles through simulated populations is greatly
enhanced by two additional TE-imposed fitness costs: dysgenic sterility and ectopic
recombination. Finally, we demonstrate that the adaptive mutation rate to repression is a
critical parameter that influences both the evolutionary trajectory of host repression and
the associated proliferation of TEs after invasion in simulated populations. Our findings
suggest that adaptive evolution of TE regulation may be stronger and more prevalent than
previously appreciated, and provide a framework for interpreting empirical data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin S Kelleher
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston
| | | | - Yichen Zheng
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston.,Biodiversitt und Klima Forschungszentrum, Senckenberg Gesellschaft fr Naturforschung, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Institute of Genetics, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, NRW, Germany
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Reexamining the P-Element Invasion of Drosophila melanogaster Through the Lens of piRNA Silencing. Genetics 2017; 203:1513-31. [PMID: 27516614 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.115.184119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2015] [Accepted: 05/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are both important drivers of genome evolution and genetic parasites with potentially dramatic consequences for host fitness. The recent explosion of research on regulatory RNAs reveals that small RNA-mediated silencing is a conserved genetic mechanism through which hosts repress TE activity. The invasion of the Drosophila melanogaster genome by P elements, which happened on a historical timescale, represents an incomparable opportunity to understand how small RNA-mediated silencing of TEs evolves. Repression of P-element transposition emerged almost concurrently with its invasion. Recent studies suggest that this repression is implemented in part, and perhaps predominantly, by the Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, a small RNA-mediated silencing pathway that regulates TE activity in many metazoan germlines. In this review, I consider the P-element invasion from both a molecular and evolutionary genetic perspective, reconciling classic studies of P-element regulation with the new mechanistic framework provided by the piRNA pathway. I further explore the utility of the P-element invasion as an exemplar of the evolution of piRNA-mediated silencing. In light of the highly-conserved role for piRNAs in regulating TEs, discoveries from this system have taxonomically broad implications for the evolution of repression.
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Liu P, Dong Y, Gu J, Puthiyakunnon S, Wu Y, Chen XG. Developmental piRNA profiles of the invasive vector mosquito Aedes albopictus. Parasit Vectors 2016; 9:524. [PMID: 27686069 PMCID: PMC5041409 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1815-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 09/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In eukaryotic organisms, Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) control the activities of mobile genetic elements and ensure genome maintenance. Recent evidence indicates that piRNAs are involved in multiple biological pathways, including transcriptional regulation of protein-coding genes, sex determination and even interactions between host and pathogens. Aedes albopictus is a major invasive species that transmits a number of viral diseases in humans. Ae. albopictus has the largest genome and the highest abundance of repetitive sequences when compared with members that belong to Culicidae with a published genome. Analysis of piRNA profiles will provide a developmental and evolutionary perspective on piRNAs in Ae. albopictus. Methods piRNAs were identified and characterized during the development of Ae. albopictus, and piRNA expression patterns in adult males and females as well as sugar-fed females and blood-fed females were compared. Results Our results reveal that, despite the large genome size of Ae. albopictus, the piRNA pool of Ae. albopictus (1.2 × 107) is smaller than those of Aedes aegypti (1.7 × 107) and Drosophila melanogaster (1.6 × 107). In Ae. albopictus, piRNAs displayed the highest abundance at the embryo stage and the lowest abundance at the pupal stage. Approximately 50 % of the piRNAs mapped to intergenic regions with no known functions. Approximately 30 % of the piRNAs mapped to repetitive elements, and 77.69 % of these repeat-derived piRNAs mapped to Class I TEs; 45.42 % of the observed piRNA reads originated from piRNA clusters, and most of the top 10 highest expressed piRNA clusters and 100 highest expressed piRNAs from each stage displayed biased expression patterns across the developmental stages. All anti-sense-derived piRNAs displayed a preference for uridine at the 5′ end; however, the sense-derived piRNAs showed adenine bias at the tenth nucleotide position and a typical ping-pong signature, suggesting that the biogenesis of piRNAs was conserved throughout development. Our results also show that 962 piRNAs displayed sex-biased expression, and 522 piRNAs showed higher expression in the blood-fed females than in the sugar-fed females. Conclusions Our results suggest that piRNAs, aside from silencing transposable elements in Ae. albopictus, may have a role in other biological pathways. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1815-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peiwen Liu
- Department of Pathogen Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, China
| | - Yunqiao Dong
- Reproductive Medical Centre of Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 511442, China
| | - Jinbao Gu
- Department of Pathogen Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, China.
| | - Santhosh Puthiyakunnon
- Department of Pathogen Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, China
| | - Yang Wu
- Department of Pathogen Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, China
| | - Xiao-Guang Chen
- Department of Pathogen Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, China.
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Simmons MJ, Grimes CD, Czora CS. Cytotype Regulation Facilitates Repression of Hybrid Dysgenesis by Naturally Occurring KP Elements in Drosophila melanogaster. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2016; 6:1891-7. [PMID: 27172198 PMCID: PMC4938643 DOI: 10.1534/g3.116.028597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 04/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
P elements inserted in the Telomere Associated Sequences (TAS) at the left end of the X chromosome are determiners of cytotype regulation of the entire P family of transposons. This regulation is mediated by Piwi-interacting (pi) RNAs derived from the telomeric P elements (TPs). Because these piRNAs are transmitted maternally, cytotype regulation is manifested as a maternal effect of the TPs. When a TP is combined with a transgenic P element inserted at another locus, this maternal effect is strengthened. However, when certain TPs are combined with transgenes that contain the small P element known as KP, stronger regulation arises from a zygotic effect of the KP element. This zygotic effect is observed with transgenic KP elements that are structurally intact, as well as with KP elements that are fused to an ancillary promoter from the hsp70 gene. Zygotic regulation by a KP element occurs only when a TP was present in the maternal germ line, and it is more pronounced when the TP was also present in the grand-maternal germ line. However, this regulation does not require zygotic expression of the TP These observations can be explained if maternally transmitted piRNAs from TPs enable a polypeptide encoded by KP elements to repress P element transposition in zygotes that contain a KP element. In nature, repression by the KP polypeptide may therefore be facilitated by cytotype-mediating piRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Simmons
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-1095
| | - Craig D Grimes
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-1095
| | - Cody S Czora
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-1095
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Ronsseray S. Paramutation phenomena in non-vertebrate animals. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2015; 44:39-46. [PMID: 26318740 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2015.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2015] [Accepted: 08/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Paramutation was initially described in maize and was defined as an epigenetic interaction between two alleles of a locus, through which one allele induces a heritable modification of the other allele without modifying the DNA sequence [1,2]. Thus it implies that the paramutated allele conserves its new properties on the long term over generations even in the absence of the paramutagenic allele and that it turns paramutagenic itself, without undergoing any changes in the DNA sequence. Some epigenetic interactions have been described in two non-vertebrate animal models, which appear to exhibit similar properties. Both systems are linked to trans-generational transmission of non-coding small RNAs. In Drosophila melanogaster, paramutation is correlated with transmission of PIWI-Interacting RNAs (piRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs that repress mobile DNA in the germline. A tandem repeated transgenic locus producing abundant ovarian piRNAs can activate piRNA production and associated homology-dependent silencing at a locus that was previously stably devoid of such capacities. The newly converted locus is then perfectly stable in absence of the inducer locus (>100 generations) and becomes fully paramutagenic. In Caenorhabditis elegans, paramutation is correlated with transmission of siRNAs, which are produced by transgenes targeted by piRNAs in the germline. Indeed, a transgenic locus, targeted by the piRNA machinery, produces siRNAs that can induce silencing of homologous transgenes, which can be further transmitted in a repressed state over generations despite the absence of the inducer transgenic locus. As in fly, the paramutated locus can become fully paramutagenic, and paramutation can be mediated by cytoplasmic inheritance without transmission of the paramutagenic locus itself. Nevertheless, in contrast to flies where the induction is only maternally inherited, both parents can transmit it in worms. In addition, a reciprocal phenomenon - (from off toward on) - appears to be also possible in worms as some activated transgenes can reactivate silent transgenes in the germline, and this modification can also be transmitted to next generations, even so it appears to be only partially stable. Thus, in a given system, opposite paramutation-like phenomena could exist, mediated by antagonist active pathways. As in plants, paramutation in flies and worms correlates with chromatin structure modification of the paramutated locus. In flies, inheritance of small RNAs from one generation to the next transmits a memory mainly targeting loci for repression whereas in worms, small RNAs can target loci either for repression or expression. Nevertheless, in the two species, paramutation can play an important role in the epigenome establishment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéphane Ronsseray
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine (IBPS), UMR 7622, Developmental Biology, 9 quai Saint-Bernard, F-75005 Paris, France; CNRS, IBPS, UMR 7622, Developmental Biology, 9 quai Saint-Bernard, F-75005 Paris, France.
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7
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Dufourt J, Vaury C. During a short window of Drosophila oogenesis, piRNA biogenesis may be boosted and mobilization of transposable elements allowed. Front Genet 2014; 5:385. [PMID: 25414724 PMCID: PMC4222224 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2014.00385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2014] [Accepted: 10/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jérémy Dufourt
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche6293, Institut National en Santé et Recherche Médicale, Unité Mixte de Recherche1103 Clermont Ferrand, France ; Laboratoire GReD, Clermont Université, Université d'Auvergne Clermont Ferrand, France
| | - Chantal Vaury
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche6293, Institut National en Santé et Recherche Médicale, Unité Mixte de Recherche1103 Clermont Ferrand, France ; Laboratoire GReD, Clermont Université, Université d'Auvergne Clermont Ferrand, France
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Molla-Herman A, Matias NR, Huynh JR. Chromatin modifications regulate germ cell development and transgenerational information relay. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2014; 1:10-18. [PMID: 32846502 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2014.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2014] [Revised: 04/23/2014] [Accepted: 04/23/2014] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Germ cells transmit genetic, cytoplasmic and epigenetic information to the next generation. Recent reports describe the importance of chromatin modifiers and small RNAs for germ cells development in Drosophila. We also review exciting progress in our understanding of piRNAs functions, which demonstrate that this class of small RNAs is both an adaptive and inheritable epigenetic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anahi Molla-Herman
- Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Institut Curie, Paris, France; CNRS UMR3215, Inserm U934, F-75248 Paris, France
| | - Neuza R Matias
- Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Institut Curie, Paris, France; CNRS UMR3215, Inserm U934, F-75248 Paris, France
| | - Jean-René Huynh
- Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Institut Curie, Paris, France; CNRS UMR3215, Inserm U934, F-75248 Paris, France.
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Simmons MJ, Meeks MW, Jessen E, Becker JR, Buschette JT, Thorp MW. Genetic interactions between P elements involved in piRNA-mediated repression of hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila melanogaster. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2014; 4:1417-27. [PMID: 24902606 PMCID: PMC4132173 DOI: 10.1534/g3.114.011221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2014] [Accepted: 05/31/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that telomeric P elements inserted at the left end of the X chromosome are anchors of the P cytotype, the maternally inherited state that regulates P-element activity in the germ line of Drosophila melanogaster. This regulation is mediated by small RNAs that associate with the Piwi family of proteins (piRNAs). We extend the analysis of cytotype regulation by studying new combinations of telomeric and nontelomeric P elements (TPs and non-TPs). TPs interact with each other to enhance cytotype regulation. This synergism involves a strictly maternal effect, called presetting, which is apparently mediated by piRNAs transmitted through the egg. Presetting by a maternal TP can elicit regulation by an inactive paternally inherited TP, possibly by stimulating its production of primary piRNAs. When one TP has come from a stock heterozygous for a mutation in the aubergine, piwi, or Suppressor of variegation 205 genes, the synergism between two TPs is impaired. TPs also interact with non-TPs to enhance cytotype regulation, even though the non-TPs lack regulatory ability on their own. Non-TPs are not susceptible to presetting by a TP, nor is a TP susceptible to presetting by a non-TP. The synergism between TPs and non-TPs is stronger when the TP was inherited maternally. This synergism may be due to the accumulation of secondary piRNAs created by ping-pong cycling between primary piRNAs from the TPs and mRNAs from the non-TPs. Maternal transmission of P-element piRNAs plays an important role in the maintenance of strong cytotype regulation over generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Simmons
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-1095
| | - Marshall W Meeks
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-1095
| | - Erik Jessen
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-1095
| | - Jordan R Becker
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-1095
| | - Jared T Buschette
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-1095
| | - Michael W Thorp
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-1095
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Maternal enhancement of cytotype regulation in Drosophila melanogaster by genetic interactions between telomeric P elements and non-telomeric transgenic P elements. Genet Res (Camb) 2013; 94:339-51. [PMID: 23374243 DOI: 10.1017/s0016672312000523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The X-linked telomeric P elements (TPs) TP5 and TP6 regulate the activity of the entire P element family because they are inserted in a major locus for the production of Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). The potential for this cytotype regulation is significantly strengthened when either TP5 or TP6 is combined with a non-telomeric X-linked or autosomal transgene that contains a P element. By themselves, none of the transgenic P elements have any regulatory ability. Synergism between the telomeric and transgenic P elements is much greater when the TP is derived from a female. Once an enhanced regulatory state is established in a female, it is transmitted to her offspring independently of either the telomeric or transgenic P elements - that is, it works through a strictly maternal effect. Synergistic regulation collapses when either the telomeric or the transgenic P element is removed from the maternal genotype, and it is significantly impaired when the TPs come from stocks heterozygous for mutations in the genes aubergine, piwi or Su(var)205. The synergism between telomeric and transgenic P elements is consistent with a model in which P piRNAs are amplified by alternating, or ping-pong, targeting of primary piRNAs to sense and antisense P transcripts, with the sense transcripts being derived from the transgenic P element and the antisense transcripts being derived from the TP.
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11
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Merriman PJ, Simmons MJ. A test for enhancement of cytotype regulation in Drosophila melanogaster by the transposase-encoding P element ∆2-3. Mol Genet Genomics 2013; 288:535-47. [PMID: 23925475 DOI: 10.1007/s00438-013-0772-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2013] [Accepted: 07/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Transposable P elements are regulated in the germ line by piRNAs, which are small RNAs that associate with the Piwi class of proteins. This regulation, called the P cytotype, is enhanced by genetic interactions between P elements that are primary sources of these RNAs and other P elements. The enhanced regulation is thought to reflect amplification of the primary piRNAs by cleavage of mRNAs derived from the other P elements through a mechanism called the ping-pong cycle. We tested the transposase-encoding P element known as ∆2-3 for its ability to enhance cytotype regulation anchored in P elements inserted at the telomere of the left arm of the X chromosome (TP elements). The ∆2-3 P element lacks the intron between exons 2 and 3 in the structurally complete P element (CP). Unlike the CP element, it does not markedly enhance cytotype regulation anchored in TP elements, nor does it transmit transposase activity through the egg cytoplasm. However, mRNAs from both the CP and ∆2-3 elements are maternally deposited in embryos. These observations suggest that maternally transmitted CP mRNA enhances cytotype regulation by participating in the ping-pong cycle and that it encodes the P transposase in the embryonic germ line, whereas maternally transmitted ∆2-3 mRNA does not, possibly because it is not efficiently directed into the primordial embryonic germ line. Strong transposon regulation may, therefore, require ping-pong cycling with maternally inherited mRNAs in the embryo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Merriman
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, 250 BioScience Center, University of Minnesota, 1445 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108-1095, USA
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Grentzinger T, Armenise C, Brun C, Mugat B, Serrano V, Pelisson A, Chambeyron S. piRNA-mediated transgenerational inheritance of an acquired trait. Genome Res 2012; 22:1877-88. [PMID: 22555593 PMCID: PMC3460183 DOI: 10.1101/gr.136614.111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The maintenance of genome integrity is an essential trait to the successful transmission of genetic information. In animal germ cells, piRNAs guide PIWI proteins to silence transposable elements (TEs) in order to maintain genome integrity. In insects, most TE silencing in the germline is achieved by secondary piRNAs that are produced by a feed-forward loop (the ping-pong cycle), which requires the piRNA-directed cleavage of two types of RNAs: mRNAs of functional euchromatic TEs and heterochromatic transcripts that contain defective TE sequences. The first cleavage that initiates such an amplification loop remains poorly understood. Taking advantage of the existence of strains that are devoid of functional copies of the LINE-like I-element, we report here that in such Drosophila ovaries, the initiation of a ping-pong cycle is exclusively achieved by secondary I-element piRNAs that are produced in the ovary and deposited in the embryonic germline. This unusual secondary piRNA biogenesis, detected in the absence of functional I-element copies, results from the processing of sense and antisense transcripts of several different defective I-element. Once acquired, for instance after ancestor aging, this capacity to produce heterochromatic-only secondary piRNAs is partially transmitted through generations via maternal piRNAs. Furthermore, such piRNAs acting as ping-pong initiators in a chromatin-independent manner confer to the progeny a high capacity to repress the I-element mobility. Our study explains, at the molecular level, the basis for epigenetic memory of maternal immunity that protects females from hybrid dysgenesis caused by transposition of paternally inherited functional I-element.
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13
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Pöyhönen M, de Vanssay A, Delmarre V, Hermant C, Todeschini AL, Teysset L, Ronsseray S. Homology-dependent silencing by an exogenous sequence in the Drosophila germline. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2012; 2:331-8. [PMID: 22413086 PMCID: PMC3291502 DOI: 10.1534/g3.111.001925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2011] [Accepted: 12/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The study of P transposable element repression in Drosophila melanogaster led to the discovery of the trans-silencing effect (TSE), a homology-dependent repression mechanism by which a P-transgene inserted in subtelomeric heterochromatin (Telomeric Associated Sequences) represses in trans, in the female germline, a homologous P-lacZ transgene inserted in euchromatin. TSE shows variegation in ovaries and displays a maternal effect as well as epigenetic transmission through meiosis. In addition, TSE is highly sensitive to mutations affecting heterochromatin components (including HP1) and the Piwi-interacting RNA silencing pathway (piRNA), a homology-dependent silencing mechanism that functions in the germline. TSE appears thus to involve the piRNA-based silencing proposed to play a major role in P repression. Under this hypothesis, TSE may also be established when homology between the telomeric and target loci involves sequences other than P elements, including sequences exogenous to the D. melanogaster genome. We have tested whether TSE can be induced via lacZ sequence homology. We generated a piggyBac-otu-lacZ transgene in which lacZ is under the control of the germline ovarian tumor promoter, resulting in strong expression in nurse cells and the oocyte. We show that all piggyBac-otu-lacZ transgene insertions are strongly repressed by maternally inherited telomeric P-lacZ transgenes. This repression shows variegation between egg chambers when it is incomplete and presents a maternal effect, two of the signatures of TSE. Finally, this repression is sensitive to mutations affecting aubergine, a key player of the piRNA pathway. These data show that TSE can occur when silencer and target loci share solely a sequence exogenous to the D. melanogaster genome. This functionally supports the hypothesis that TSE represents a general repression mechanism which can be co-opted by new transposable elements to regulate their activity after a transfer to the D. melanogaster genome.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Valérie Delmarre
- Laboratoire Biologie du Développement, UMR7622, CNRS–Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 9 quai Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Catherine Hermant
- Laboratoire Biologie du Développement, UMR7622, CNRS–Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 9 quai Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France
| | | | - Laure Teysset
- Laboratoire Biologie du Développement, UMR7622, CNRS–Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 9 quai Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Stéphane Ronsseray
- Laboratoire Biologie du Développement, UMR7622, CNRS–Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 9 quai Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France
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Maternal impairment of transposon regulation in Drosophila melanogaster by mutations in the genes aubergine, piwi and Suppressor of variegation 205. Genet Res (Camb) 2011; 92:261-72. [PMID: 20943007 DOI: 10.1017/s0016672310000352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
TP5, a P element inserted in the telomere-associated sequences of the X chromosome, represses the excision of other P elements in the germ line through a combination of maternal and zygotic effects. The maternal component of this repression is impaired by heterozygous mutations in the aubergine and Suppressor of variegation 205 genes; one mutation in the piwi gene also appears to impair repression. In the female germ line, the level of TP5 mRNA is increased by these impairing mutations. The impairing aubergine and piwi mutations also increase the level of germ-line mRNA from CP, a transgene that encodes the P-element transposase; however, the Suppressor of variegation 205 mutation does not. These findings are discussed in terms of a model of P-element regulation that involves post-transcriptional and chromatin re-organizing events mediated by maternally transmitted small RNAs derived from the telomeric P element.
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Todeschini AL, Teysset L, Delmarre V, Ronsseray S. The epigenetic trans-silencing effect in Drosophila involves maternally-transmitted small RNAs whose production depends on the piRNA pathway and HP1. PLoS One 2010; 5:e11032. [PMID: 20559422 PMCID: PMC2885412 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0011032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2010] [Accepted: 05/21/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The study of P transposable element repression in Drosophila melanogaster led to the discovery of the Trans-Silencing Effect (TSE), a homology-dependent repression mechanism by which a P-transgene inserted in subtelomeric heterochromatin (Telomeric Associated Sequences, “TAS”) has the capacity to repress in trans, in the female germline, a homologous P-lacZ transgene located in euchromatin. Phenotypic and genetic analysis have shown that TSE exhibits variegation in ovaries, displays a maternal effect as well as epigenetic transmission through meiosis and involves heterochromatin (including HP1) and RNA silencing. Principal Findings Here, we show that mutations in squash and zucchini, which are involved in the piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) silencing pathway, strongly affect TSE. In addition, we carried out a molecular analysis of TSE and show that silencing is correlated to the accumulation of lacZ small RNAs in ovaries. Finally, we show that the production of these small RNAs is sensitive to mutations affecting squash and zucchini, as well as to the dose of HP1. Conclusions and Significance Thus, our results indicate that the TSE represents a bona fide piRNA-based repression. In addition, the sensitivity of TSE to HP1 dose suggests that in Drosophila, as previously shown in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, a RNA silencing pathway can depend on heterochromatin components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Laure Todeschini
- Laboratoire Biologie du Développement, UMR7622, CNRS-Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France
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Cytotype regulation by telomeric P elements in Drosophila melanogaster: variation in regulatory strength and maternal effects. Genet Res (Camb) 2010; 91:327-36. [PMID: 19922696 DOI: 10.1017/s001667230999022x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Strains carrying the X-linked telomeric P elements TP5 or TP6 varied in their ability to repress hybrid dysgenesis. The rank ordering of these strains was consistent across different genetic assays and was not related to the type of telomeric P element (TP5 or TP6) present. Strong repression of dysgenesis was associated with weak expression of mRNA from the telomeric P element and also with a reduced amount of mRNA from a transposase-producing P element contained within a transgene inserted on an autosome. A strictly maternal component of repression, transmitted independently of the telomeric P element, was detected in the daughters but not the sons of females from the strongest repressing strains. However, this effect was seen only when dysgenesis was induced by crossing these females to males from a P strain, not when it was induced by crossing them to males homozygous for a single transposase-producing P element contained within a transgene. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the P cytotype, the condition that regulates P elements, involves an RNA interference mechanism mediated by piRNAs produced by telomeric P elements such as TP5 and TP6 and amplified by RNAs produced by other P elements.
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Cytotype regulation inDrosophila melanogaster: synergism between telomeric and non-telomericPelements. Genet Res (Camb) 2010; 91:383-94. [PMID: 20122295 DOI: 10.1017/s0016672309990322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
SummaryThe X-linked telomericPelementsTP5andTP6interact synergistically with non-telomericPelements to repress hybrid dysgenesis. In this repression, the telomericPelements exert maternal effects, which, however, are not sufficient to establish synergism with the non-telomericPelements. Once synergism is established, the capacity to repress dysgenesis in the offspring of a cross persists for at least two generations after removing the telomericPelement from the genotype. At the molecular level, synergism between telomeric and non-telomericPelements is correlated with effective elimination ofP-element mRNA in the germ line. Maternally transmitted mutations in the genesaubergine,piwiandSuppressor of variegation 205[Su(var)205] block the establishment of synergism between telomeric and non-telomericPelements, and paternally transmitted mutations inpiwiandSu(var)205disrupt synergism that has already been established. These findings are discussed in terms of a model of cytotype regulation ofPelements based on Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) that are amplified by cycling between sense and antisense species.
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Telomeric trans-silencing in Drosophila melanogaster: tissue specificity, development and functional interactions between non-homologous telomeres. PLoS One 2008; 3:e3249. [PMID: 18813361 PMCID: PMC2547894 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2008] [Accepted: 09/02/2008] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The study of P element repression in Drosophila melanogaster led to the discovery of the telomeric Trans-Silencing Effect (TSE), a homology-dependent repression mechanism by which a P-transgene inserted in subtelomeric heterochromatin (Telomeric Associated Sequences, “TAS”) has the capacity to repress in trans, in the female germline, a homologous P-lacZ transgene located in euchromatin. TSE can show variegation in ovaries, displays a maternal effect as well as an epigenetic transmission through meiosis and involves heterochromatin and RNA silencing pathways. Principal Findings Here, we analyze phenotypic and genetic properties of TSE. We report that TSE does not occur in the soma at the adult stage, but appears restricted to the female germline. It is detectable during development at the third instar larvae where it presents the same tissue specificity and maternal effect as in adults. Transgenes located in TAS at the telomeres of the main chromosomes can be silencers which in each case show the maternal effect. Silencers located at non-homologous telomeres functionally interact since they stimulate each other via the maternally-transmitted component. All germinally-expressed euchromatic transgenes tested, located on all major chromosomes, were found to be repressed by a telomeric silencer: thus we detected no TSE escaper. The presence of the euchromatic target transgene is not necessary to establish the maternal inheritance of TSE, responsible for its epigenetic behavior. A single telomeric silencer locus can simultaneously repress two P-lacZ targets located on different chromosomal arms. Conclusions and Significance Therefore TSE appears to be a widespread phenomenon which can involve different telomeres and work across the genome. It can explain the P cytotype establishment by telomeric P elements in natural Drosophila populations.
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Michalak P. Epigenetic, transposon and small RNA determinants of hybrid dysfunctions. Heredity (Edinb) 2008; 102:45-50. [DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2008.48] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
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Simmons MJ, Niemi JB, Ryzek DF, Lamour C, Goodman JW, Kraszkiewicz W, Wolff R. Cytotype regulation by telomeric P elements in Drosophila melanogaster: interactions with P elements from M' strains. Genetics 2007; 176:1957-66. [PMID: 17565961 PMCID: PMC1950605 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.106.066670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2006] [Accepted: 05/21/2007] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
P strains of Drosophila are distinguished from M strains by having P elements in their genomes and also by having the P cytotype, a maternally inherited condition that strongly represses P-element-induced hybrid dysgenesis. The P cytotype is associated with P elements inserted near the left telomere of the X chromosome. Repression by the telomeric P elements TP5 and TP6 is significantly enhanced when these elements are crossed into M' strains, which, like P strains, carry P elements, but have little or no ability to repress dysgenesis. The telomeric and M' P elements must coexist in females for this enhanced repression ability to develop. However, once established, it is transmitted maternally to the immediate offspring independently of the telomeric P elements themselves. Females that carry a telomeric P element but that do not carry M' P elements may also transmit an ability to repress dysgenesis to their offspring independently of the telomeric P element. Cytotype regulation therefore involves a maternally transmissible product of telomeric P elements that can interact synergistically with products from paternally inherited M' P elements. This synergism between TP and M' P elements also appears to persist for at least one generation after the TP has been removed from the genotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Simmons
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, 250 BioScience Center, University of Minnesota, 1445 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108-1095, USA.
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21
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Josse T, Teysset L, Todeschini AL, Sidor CM, Anxolabéhère D, Ronsseray S. Telomeric trans-silencing: an epigenetic repression combining RNA silencing and heterochromatin formation. PLoS Genet 2007; 3:1633-43. [PMID: 17941712 PMCID: PMC1976332 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.0030158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2007] [Accepted: 07/31/2007] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of P-element repression in Drosophila melanogaster led to the discovery of the telomeric Trans-Silencing Effect (TSE), a repression mechanism by which a transposon or a transgene inserted in subtelomeric heterochromatin (Telomeric Associated Sequence or TAS) has the capacity to repress in trans in the female germline, a homologous transposon, or transgene located in euchromatin. TSE shows variegation among egg chambers in ovaries when silencing is incomplete. Here, we report that TSE displays an epigenetic transmission through meiosis, which involves an extrachromosomal maternally transmitted factor. We show that this silencing is highly sensitive to mutations affecting both heterochromatin formation (Su(var)205 encoding Heterochromatin Protein 1 and Su(var)3–7) and the repeat-associated small interfering RNA (or rasiRNA) silencing pathway (aubergine, homeless, armitage, and piwi). In contrast, TSE is not sensitive to mutations affecting r2d2, which is involved in the small interfering RNA (or siRNA) silencing pathway, nor is it sensitive to a mutation in loquacious, which is involved in the micro RNA (or miRNA) silencing pathway. These results, taken together with the recent discovery of TAS homologous small RNAs associated to PIWI proteins, support the proposition that TSE involves a repeat-associated small interfering RNA pathway linked to heterochromatin formation, which was co-opted by the P element to establish repression of its own transposition after its recent invasion of the D. melanogaster genome. Therefore, the study of TSE provides insight into the genetic properties of a germline-specific small RNA silencing pathway. The genome of the fruitfly was invaded in the last century by a mobile DNA element called the P element. After a transient period of genetic disorders due to P mobility, the P element established a repressive state for its transposition. We have shown that a major component of this repression comes from P copies inserted close to telomeres, the ends of linear chromosomes. One or two P copies inserted in subtelomeric heterochromatin (the DNA region highly compacted by protein complexes) can stabilize around 80 P copies. This finding allowed the discovery of a more general phenomenon called the “Trans-silencing effect” in which a transgene inserted in this subtelomeric heterochromatin represses, in the female germline, a homologous transgene, irrespective of the genetic location of the latter. We show that Trans-silencing requires not only the chromosomal copy of the telomeric silencer, but also a maternally transmitted factor whose influence can persist over generations. We have found that this epigenetic silencing is sensitive to mutations in genes involved in heterochromatin formation and in a recently discovered silencing pathway based on small RNAs. Trans-silencing thus provides a tool for mechanistic analysis of gene repression on the basis of chromatin changes combined with small RNA pathways in the germline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibaut Josse
- Laboratoire Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
- CNRS, UMR7592, Paris, France
- Université Paris 6, Paris, France
- Université Paris 7, Paris, France
| | - Laure Teysset
- Laboratoire Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
- CNRS, UMR7592, Paris, France
- Université Paris 6, Paris, France
- Université Paris 7, Paris, France
| | - Anne-Laure Todeschini
- Laboratoire Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
- CNRS, UMR7592, Paris, France
- Université Paris 6, Paris, France
- Université Paris 7, Paris, France
| | - Clara M Sidor
- Laboratoire Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
- CNRS, UMR7592, Paris, France
- Université Paris 6, Paris, France
- Université Paris 7, Paris, France
| | - Dominique Anxolabéhère
- Laboratoire Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
- CNRS, UMR7592, Paris, France
- Université Paris 6, Paris, France
- Université Paris 7, Paris, France
| | - Stéphane Ronsseray
- Laboratoire Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
- CNRS, UMR7592, Paris, France
- Université Paris 6, Paris, France
- Université Paris 7, Paris, France
- * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
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Blumenstiel JP, Hartl DL. Evidence for maternally transmitted small interfering RNA in the repression of transposition in Drosophila virilis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005; 102:15965-70. [PMID: 16247000 PMCID: PMC1276106 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0508192102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila is a syndrome of gonadal atrophy, sterility, and male recombination, and it occurs in the progeny of crosses between males that harbor certain transposable elements (TEs) and females that lack them. Known examples of hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila melanogaster result from mobilization of individual families of TEs, such as the P element, the I element, or hobo. An example of hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila virilis is unique in that multiple, unrelated families of TEs become mobilized, but a TE designated Penelope appears to play a major role. In all known examples of hybrid dysgenesis, the paternal germ line transmits the TEs in an active state, whereas the female germ line maintains repression of the TEs. The mechanism of maternal maintenance of repression is not known. Recent evidence suggests that the molecular machinery of RNA interference may function as an important host defense against TEs. This protection is mediated by the action of endogenous small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) composed of dsRNA molecules of 21-25 nt that can target complementary transcripts for destruction. In this paper, we demonstrate that endogenous siRNA derived from the Penelope element is maternally loaded in embryos through the female germ line in D. virilis. We also present evidence that the maternal inheritance of these endogenous siRNAs may contribute to maternal repression of Penelope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin P Blumenstiel
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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Niemi JB, Raymond JD, Patrek R, Simmons MJ. Establishment and maintenance of the P cytotype associated with telomeric P elements in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 2004; 166:255-64. [PMID: 15020423 PMCID: PMC1470675 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.166.1.255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
P elements inserted near the left telomere of the X chromosome are associated with the P cytotype, a maternally transmitted condition that strongly regulates the activity of the P transposon family in some strains of Drosophila. The regulatory abilities of two such elements, TP5 and TP6, are stable in homozygous stocks over many generations. However, these regulatory abilities are attenuated when the telomeric P elements are transmitted through heterozygous females, and they are utterly lost when the elements are transmitted through males. Paternally transmitted telomeric P elements reacquire regulatory ability when they pass through a female germ line. This reacquisition is enhanced if the females in which it occurs came from mothers who carried a telomeric P element. The enhancement has two components: (1). a strictly maternal effect that is transmitted to the females independently of the mother's telomeric P element ("presetting" or the "pre-P cytotype") and (2). a zygotic effect associated with inheritance of the mother's telomeric P element. One telomeric P element can enhance the reacquisition of another's regulatory ability. When X chromosomes that carry telomeric P elements are extracted through males and made homozygous by using a balancer chromosome, most of the resulting stocks develop strong regulatory abilities in a few generations. However, some of the stocks do not attain the regulatory ability of the original population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarad B Niemi
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108-1095, USA.
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Ronsseray S, Boivin A, Anxolabéhère D. P-Element repression in Drosophila melanogaster by variegating clusters of P-lacZ-white transgenes. Genetics 2001; 159:1631-42. [PMID: 11779802 PMCID: PMC1461890 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/159.4.1631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In Drosophila, clusters of P transgenes (P-lac-w) display a variegating phenotype for the w marker. In addition, X-ray-induced rearrangements of chromosomes bearing such clusters may lead to enhancement of the variegated phenotype. Since P-lacZ transgenes in subtelomeric heterochromatin have some P-element repression abilities, we tested whether P-lac-w clusters also have the capacity to repress P-element activity in the germline. One cluster (T-1), located on a rearranged chromosome (T2;3) and derived from a line bearing a variegating tandem array of seven P-lac-w elements, partially represses the dysgenic sterility (GD sterility) induced by P elements. This cluster also strongly represses in trans the expression of P-lacZ elements in the germline. This latter suppression shows a maternal effect. Finally, the combination of variegating P-lac-w clusters and a single P-lacZ reporter inserted in subtelomeric heterochromatic sequences at the X chromosome telomere (cytological site 1A) leads to strong repression of dysgenic sterility. These results show that repression of P-induced dysgenic sterility can be elicited in the absence of P elements encoding a polypeptide repressor and that a transgene cluster can repress the expression of a single homologous transgene at a nonallelic position. Implications for models of transposable element silencing are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Ronsseray
- Laboratoire Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, UMR7592, CNRS-Universités Paris 6 et 7, 75251 Paris Cedex 05, France.
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Marin L, Lehmann M, Nouaud D, Izaabel H, Anxolabéhère D, Ronsseray S. P-Element repression in Drosophila melanogaster by a naturally occurring defective telomeric P copy. Genetics 2000; 155:1841-54. [PMID: 10924479 PMCID: PMC1461209 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/155.4.1841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In Drosophila melanogaster, hybrid dysgenesis occurs in progeny from crosses between females lacking P elements and males carrying P elements scattered throughout the genome. We have genetically isolated a naturally occurring P insertion at cytological location 1A, from a Tunisian population. The Nasr'Allah-P(1A) element [NA-P(1A)] has a deletion of the first 871 bp including the P promoter. It is flanked at the 3' end by telomeric associated sequences and at the 5' end by a HeT-A element sequence. The NA-P(1A) element strongly represses dysgenic sterility and P transposition. However, when testing P-promoter repression, NA-P(1A) was unable to repress a germinally expressed P-lacZ construct bearing no 5'-homology with it. Conversely, a second P-lacZ construct, in which the fusion with lacZ takes place in exon 3 of P, was successfully repressed by NA-P(1A). This suggests that NA-P(1A) repression involves a homology-dependent component.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Marin
- Département Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, 75251 Paris Cedex 05, France
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Quesneville H, Anxolabéhère D. Dynamics of transposable elements in metapopulations: a model of P element invasion in Drosophila. Theor Popul Biol 1998; 54:175-93. [PMID: 9733658 DOI: 10.1006/tpbi.1997.1353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Work on how transposable elements are maintained and spread by virtue of their transposition processes have produced many theoretical studies of their evolutionary dynamics. But recent studies, which have experimentally identified some of these mechanisms, have not been taken into account. We present an integrated model of P transposable element regulation. It includes, at an individual level, the various mechanisms of regulation and the transposition events, that have been experimentally identified, recording specifically the chromosomal localisations of the inserted copies. It attempts to define the minimum conditions for explaining the regulation and spread of the P transposable element in Drosophila melanogaster natural populations. One test of this model is that it must explain the different population states found in the wild. A program that simulates the changes in Drosophila populations during the invasion of P elements was developed; the simulated populations were then compared to natural population data at the molecular and genetic levels. The model was validated by testing the dynamics of P element invasion in populations. It could explain the different natural population states with a recurrent invasion process. The simulations show that migration reduces the total number of copies, increases the number of defective copies, decreases P-activity and increases P-susceptibility, shifting equilibrium states from P to M'. They also show that the copies determining P-cytotype regulation spread faster by selection when located on the X chromosome. This result could account for the unexplained accumulation of P copies on the X chromosomes of some natural populations. Moreover the simulations predict a novel equilibrium state, called P', not yet characterized in natural populations but that can be found in natural population data.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Quesneville
- Laboratoire de Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France.
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27
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Ronsseray S, Marin L, Lehmann M, Anxolabéhère D. Repression of hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila melanogaster by combinations of telomeric P-element reporters and naturally occurring P elements. Genetics 1998; 149:1857-66. [PMID: 9691042 PMCID: PMC1460266 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/149.4.1857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In Drosophila melanogaster, hybrid dysgenesis occurs in the germline of flies produced by crosses between females lacking P elements and males carrying 25-55 P elements. We have previously shown that a complete maternally inherited repression of P transposition in the germline (P cytotype) can be elicited by only two autonomous P elements located at the X chromosome telomere (cytological site 1A). We have tested whether P transgenes at 1A, unable to code for a P-repressor, may contribute to the repression of P elements. Females carrying a P-lacZ transgene at 1A ["P-lacZ(1A)"], crossed with P males, do not repress dysgenic sterility in their progeny. However, these P-lacZ(1A) insertions, maternally or paternally inherited, contribute to P-element repression when they are combined with other regulatory P elements. This combination effect is not seen when the P-lacZ transgene is located in pericentromeric heterochromatin or in euchromatin; however a P-w,ry transgene located at the 3R chromosome telomere exhibits the combination effect. The combination effect with the P-lacZ(1A) transgene is impaired by a mutant Su(var)205 allele known to impair the repression ability of the autonomous P elements at 1A. We hypothesized that the combination effect is due to modification of the chromatin structure or nuclear location of genomic P elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Ronsseray
- Département Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7592, Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique-Universités Paris 6 et 7, 75251 Paris cedex 05,
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Roche SE, Rio DC. Trans-silencing by P elements inserted in subtelomeric heterochromatin involves the Drosophila Polycomb group gene, Enhancer of zeste. Genetics 1998; 149:1839-55. [PMID: 9691041 PMCID: PMC1460262 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/149.4.1839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Drosophila P-element transposition is regulated by a maternally inherited state known as P cytotype. An important aspect of P cytotype is transcriptional repression of the P-element promoter. P cytotype can also repress non-P-element promoters within P-element ends, suggesting that P cytotype repression might involve chromatin-based transcriptional silencing. To learn more about the role of chromatin in P cytotype repression, we have been studying the P strain Lk-P(1A). This strain contains two full-length P elements inserted in the heterochromatic telomere-associated sequences (TAS elements) at cytological location 1A. Mutations in the Polycomb group gene (Pc-G gene), Enhancer of zeste (E(z)), whose protein product binds at 1A, resulted in a loss of Lk-P(1A) cytotype control. E(z) mutations also affected the trans-silencing of heterologous promoters between P-element termini by P-element transgenes inserted in the TAS repeats. These data suggest that pairing interactions between P elements, resulting in exchange of chromatin structures, may be a mechanism for controlling the expression and activity of P elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- S E Roche
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3204, USA
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Abstract
Transposable elements propagate by inserting into new locations in the genomes of the hosts they inhabit. Their transposition might thus negatively affect the fitness of the host, suggesting the requirement for a tight control in the regulation of transposable element mobilization. The nature of this control depends on the structure of the transposable element. DNA elements encode a transposase that is necessary, and in most cases sufficient, for mobilization. In general, regulation of these elements depends on intrinsic factors with little direct input from the host. Retrotransposons require an RNA intermediate for transposition, and their frequency of mobilization is controlled at multiple steps by the host genome by regulating both their expression levels and their insertional specificity. As a result, a symbiotic relationship has developed between transposable elements and their host. Examples are now emerging showing that transposons can contribute significantly to the well being of the organisms they populate.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Labrador
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- W R Engels
- Genetics Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706, USA
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Roche SE, Schiff M, Rio DC. P-element repressor autoregulation involves germ-line transcriptional repression and reduction of third intron splicing. Genes Dev 1995; 9:1278-88. [PMID: 7758951 DOI: 10.1101/gad.9.10.1278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
P cytotype is a regulatory state, characteristic of Drosophila P-strain females, in which P-element transposition is repressed. P cytotype is established maternally in the germ line but is also dependent on the presence of P elements in the zygote. One aspect of P cytotype involves transcriptional repression of the P-element promoter. Here, we show that transcriptional repression by P cytotype in the female germ line occurs by a general promoter-independent mechanism with heterologous promoters carried in P-element vectors. P-cytotype transcriptional repression results in low levels of pre-mRNA and a reduction in splicing of the P-element third intron (IVS3)-containing mRNA, thus causing an increase in the proportion of 66-kD repressor mRNA. Increased retention of IVS3 in P cytotype would result in an autoregulatory loop of 66-kD repressor production. This combination of germ-line transcriptional repression and splicing control provides a mechanism to maintain repression during the maternal inheritance of P cytotype. These findings suggest that transcriptional repression may play an additional role in the regulation of gene expression, namely allowing alteration of pre-mRNA splicing patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- S E Roche
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley 94720-3204, USA
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Miller WJ, Paricio N, Hagemann S, Martínez-Sebastián MJ, Pinsker W, de Frutos R. Structure and expression of clustered P element homologues in Drosophila subobscura and Drosophila guanche. Gene 1995; 156:167-74. [PMID: 7758953 DOI: 10.1016/0378-1119(95)00013-v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Sequence relationships and functional aspects were analysed in the P element homologues of Drosophila subobscura (Ds) and D. guanche (Dg). In both species, the P homologues are clustered at a single genomic position. They lack the characteristic terminal structures of actively transposing P elements, but they have the coding capacity for a 66-kDa 'repressor-like' protein. Two different types of cluster units (G-type and A-type) can be distinguished. The A-type unit, which is present in multiple copies, is transcribed in adult flies. In contrast, the G-type unit has a much lower copy number and is apparently not expressed. In Dg, the isolated G-type sequence carries a 420-bp insertion in the promoter region, which is probably responsible for inactivation. Sequence comparisons of different cluster units show that differentiation of the two types precedes the lineage split of these species. Substitution rates of the deduced proteins reveal two distinct subregions: high variability at the N terminus and strong sequence conservation in the rest of the protein. The variable region contains motifs characteristic of DNA-binding proteins. Adaptive diversification of the cluster units towards specific binding properties might be a plausible explanation for variability in the N-termini. Both unit types have lost the weak promoter region characteristic of P transposons. In the A-type unit, a new promoter has been formed which is apparently composed of parts of insertion sequences derived from two different mobile elements.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Affiliation(s)
- W J Miller
- Institut für Allgemeine Biologie, Abteilung Genetik, Medizinische Fakultät der Universität Wien, Austria
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Pélisson A, Song SU, Prud'homme N, Smith PA, Bucheton A, Corces VG. Gypsy transposition correlates with the production of a retroviral envelope-like protein under the tissue-specific control of the Drosophila flamenco gene. EMBO J 1994; 13:4401-11. [PMID: 7925283 PMCID: PMC395367 DOI: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1994.tb06760.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Gypsy displays striking similarities to vertebrate retroviruses, including the presence of a yet uncharacterized additional open reading frame (ORF3) and the recent evidence for infectivity. It is mobilized with high frequency in the germline of the progeny of females homozygous for the flamenco permissive mutation. We report the characterization of a gypsy subgenomic ORF3 RNA encoding typical retroviral envelope proteins. In females, env expression is strongly repressed by one copy of the non-permissive allele of flamenco. A less dramatic reduction in the accumulation of other transcripts and retrotranscripts is also observed. These effects correlate well with the inhibition of gypsy transposition in the progeny of these females, and are therefore likely to be responsible for this phenomenon. The effects of flamenco on gypsy expression are apparently restricted to the somatic follicle cells that surround the maternal germline. Moreover, permissive follicle cells display a typically polarized distribution of gypsy RNAs and envelope proteins, both being mainly accumulated at the apical pole, close to the oocyte. We propose a model suggesting that gypsy germinal transposition might occur only in individuals that have maternally inherited enveloped gypsy particles due to infection of the maternal germline by the soma.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Pélisson
- Centre de Génétique Moléculaire, CNRS, Gif sur Yvette, France
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Coen D, Lemaitre B, Delattre M, Quesneville H, Ronsseray S, Simonelig M, Higuet D, Lehmann M, Montchamp C, Nouaud D. Drosophila P element: transposition, regulation and evolution. Genetica 1994; 93:61-78. [PMID: 7813918 DOI: 10.1007/bf01435240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- D Coen
- Département Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
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Affiliation(s)
- R H Plasterk
- The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Division of Molecular Biology, Amsterdam
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