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Samuels TJ, Gui J, Gebert D, Karam Teixeira F. Two distinct waves of transcriptome and translatome changes drive Drosophila germline stem cell differentiation. EMBO J 2024; 43:1591-1617. [PMID: 38480936 PMCID: PMC11021484 DOI: 10.1038/s44318-024-00070-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The tight control of fate transitions during stem cell differentiation is essential for proper tissue development and maintenance. However, the challenges in studying sparsely distributed adult stem cells in a systematic manner have hindered efforts to identify how the multilayered regulation of gene expression programs orchestrates stem cell differentiation in vivo. Here, we synchronised Drosophila female germline stem cell (GSC) differentiation in vivo to perform in-depth transcriptome and translatome analyses at high temporal resolution. This characterisation revealed widespread and dynamic changes in mRNA level, promoter usage, exon inclusion, and translation efficiency. Transient expression of the master regulator, Bam, drives a first wave of expression changes, primarily modifying the cell cycle program. Surprisingly, as Bam levels recede, differentiating cells return to a remarkably stem cell-like transcription and translation program, with a few crucial changes feeding into a second phase driving terminal differentiation to form the oocyte. Altogether, these findings reveal that rather than a unidirectional accumulation of changes, the in vivo differentiation of stem cells relies on distinctly regulated and developmentally sequential waves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamsin J Samuels
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EH, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3DY, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jinghua Gui
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EH, Cambridge, UK
| | - Daniel Gebert
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EH, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3DY, Cambridge, UK
| | - Felipe Karam Teixeira
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EH, Cambridge, UK.
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3DY, Cambridge, UK.
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2
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Hay AD, Kessler NJ, Gebert D, Takahashi N, Tavares H, Teixeira FK, Ferguson-Smith AC. Epigenetic inheritance is unfaithful at intermediately methylated CpG sites. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5336. [PMID: 37660134 PMCID: PMC10475082 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40845-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation at the CpG dinucleotide is considered a stable epigenetic mark due to its presumed long-term inheritance through clonal expansion. Here, we perform high-throughput bisulfite sequencing on clonally derived somatic cell lines to quantitatively measure methylation inheritance at the nucleotide level. We find that although DNA methylation is generally faithfully maintained at hypo- and hypermethylated sites, this is not the case at intermediately methylated CpGs. Low fidelity intermediate methylation is interspersed throughout the genome and within genes with no or low transcriptional activity, and is not coordinately maintained between neighbouring sites. We determine that the probabilistic changes that occur at intermediately methylated sites are likely due to DNMT1 rather than DNMT3A/3B activity. The observed lack of clonal inheritance at intermediately methylated sites challenges the current epigenetic inheritance model and has direct implications for both the functional relevance and general interpretability of DNA methylation as a stable epigenetic mark.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir D Hay
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Noah J Kessler
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Daniel Gebert
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Nozomi Takahashi
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Hugo Tavares
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Felipe K Teixeira
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK.
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DY, UK.
| | - Anne C Ferguson-Smith
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK.
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Gebert D, Neubert LK, Lloyd C, Gui J, Lehmann R, Teixeira FK. Large Drosophila germline piRNA clusters are evolutionarily labile and dispensable for transposon regulation. Mol Cell 2021; 81:3965-3978.e5. [PMID: 34352205 PMCID: PMC8516431 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2021.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
PIWI proteins and their guiding Piwi-interacting small RNAs (piRNAs) are crucial for fertility and transposon defense in the animal germline. In most species, the majority of piRNAs are produced from distinct large genomic loci, called piRNA clusters. It is assumed that germline-expressed piRNA clusters, particularly in Drosophila, act as principal regulators to control transposons dispersed across the genome. Here, using synteny analysis, we show that large clusters are evolutionarily labile, arise at loci characterized by recurrent chromosomal rearrangements, and are mostly species-specific across the Drosophila genus. By engineering chromosomal deletions in D. melanogaster, we demonstrate that the three largest germline clusters, which account for the accumulation of >40% of all transposon-targeting piRNAs in ovaries, are neither required for fertility nor for transposon regulation in trans. We provide further evidence that dispersed elements, rather than the regulatory action of large Drosophila germline clusters in trans, may be central for transposon defense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Gebert
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Lena K Neubert
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Catrin Lloyd
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Jinghua Gui
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Ruth Lehmann
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine of the Skirball Institute, Department of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
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Rosenkranz D, Zischler H, Gebert D. piRNAclusterDB 2.0: update and expansion of the piRNA cluster database. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 50:D259-D264. [PMID: 34302483 PMCID: PMC8728273 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and their partnering PIWI proteins defend the animal germline against transposable elements and play a crucial role in fertility. Numerous studies in the past have uncovered many additional functions of the piRNA pathway, including gene regulation, anti-viral defense, and somatic transposon repression. Further, comparative analyses across phylogenetic groups showed that the PIWI/piRNA system evolves rapidly and exhibits great evolutionary plasticity. However, the presence of so-called piRNA clusters as the major source of piRNAs is common to nearly all metazoan species. These genomic piRNA-producing loci are highly divergent across taxa and critically influence piRNA populations in different evolutionary lineages. We launched the initial version of the piRNA cluster database to facilitate research on regulation and evolution of piRNA-producing loci across tissues und species. In recent years the amount of small RNA sequencing data that was generated and the abundance of species that were studied has grown rapidly. To keep up with this recent progress, we have released a major update for the piRNA cluster database (https://www.smallrnagroup.uni-mainz.de/piRNAclusterDB), expanding it from 12 to a total of 51 species with hundreds of new datasets, and revised its overall structure to enable easy navigation through this large amount of data.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Rosenkranz
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz 55099, Germany.,Senckenberg Centre for Human Genetics, Facharztzentrum Frankfurt-Nordend gGmbH, Frankfurt am Main 60314, Germany
| | - Hans Zischler
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz 55099, Germany
| | - Daniel Gebert
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz 55099, Germany.,Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK
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Albantakis L, Brandi ML, Brückl T, Gebert D, Auer M, Kopczak A, Stalla G, Neumann I, Schilbach L. Oxytocin and cortisol concentrations in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder in response to physical exercise. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology 2021; 5:100027. [PMID: 35754449 PMCID: PMC9216704 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, whose core symptoms consist of deficits in social interaction and communication as well as restricted and repetitive behavior. Brain oxytocin (OXT) has been associated with various prosocial behaviors, and might, therefore, be involved in the pathogenesis of disorders associated with socio-emotional dysfunctions such as ASD. However, significant associations between central and peripheral OXT levels may only be present in response to physiological or stressful stimuli but were not shown under baseline conditions. In this study, we, therefore, investigated salivary and plasma OXT in response to physical exercise in adults with ASD (n = 33, mean age: 36.8 ± 10.7 years) without intellectual impairment (IQ > 70) and neurotypical controls (n = 31, mean age: 31.0 ± 11.7 years). To stimulate the OXT system, we used rapid cycling and measured cortisol (CORT) concentrations to monitor the physiological stress response. When controlling for age, neither salivary OXT (p = .469), plasma OXT (p = .297) nor CORT (p = .667) concentrations significantly differed between groups at baseline. In addition, neither OXT nor CORT concentrations significantly differed between groups after physical exercise. Social anxiety traits were negatively correlated with plasma, but not saliva OXT concentrations in neurotypicals at baseline, while empathetic traits were positively correlated with saliva, but not plasma concentrations in autistic patients at baseline. No significant correlations between salivary and plasma OXT concentrations were found at any time point. Future studies including adult participants should investigate the effect of age on CORT and OXT concentrations in response to stress. Basal levels of cortisol and oxytocin did not differ in adults with ASD from controls. After physical exercise plasma oxytocin increased in ASD with low cortisol-response. Cortisol and oxytocin levels post-task did not significantly differ between groups. Social phobic traits predicted lower plasma oxytocin concentrations in controls. Empathetic traits predicted higher salivary oxytocin levels in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- L. Albantakis
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry – Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany
- Corresponding author. Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany.
| | - M.-L. Brandi
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry – Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany
| | - T. Brückl
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry – Translational Research in Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany
| | - D. Gebert
- Neurological Specialty Hospital for Movement Disorders/Parkinson’s Disease, Straße Nach Fichtenwalde 16, 14547, Beelitz, Germany
| | - M.K. Auer
- Medizinische Klinik and Poliklinik IV, LMU Klinikum, Ziemssenstr. 1, 80336, Munich, Germany
| | - A. Kopczak
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 17, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - G.K. Stalla
- Medizinische Klinik and Poliklinik IV, LMU Klinikum, Ziemssenstr. 1, 80336, Munich, Germany
- Medicover Neuroendokrinologie, Orleansplatz 3, 81667, Munich, Germany
| | - I.D. Neumann
- Department of Behavioural and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - L. Schilbach
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry – Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539, Munich, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, LMU Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg, Germany
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Gebert D, Zischler H, Rosenkranz D. Primate piRNA Cluster Evolution Suggests Limited Relevance of Pseudogenes in piRNA-Mediated Gene Regulation. Genome Biol Evol 2019; 11:1088-1104. [PMID: 30888404 PMCID: PMC6461890 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evz060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
PIWI proteins and their guiding Piwi-interacting (pi-) RNAs direct the silencing of target nucleic acids in the animal germline and soma. Although in mammal testes fetal piRNAs are involved in extensive silencing of transposons, pachytene piRNAs have additionally been shown to act in post-transcriptional gene regulation. The bulk of pachytene piRNAs is produced from large genomic loci, named piRNA clusters. Recently, the presence of reversed pseudogenes within piRNA clusters prompted the idea that piRNAs derived from such sequences might direct regulation of their parent genes. Here, we examine primate piRNA clusters and integrated pseudogenes in a comparative approach to gain a deeper understanding about mammalian piRNA cluster evolution and the presumed gene-regulatory role of pseudogene-derived piRNAs. Initially, we provide a broad analysis of the evolutionary relationships of piRNA clusters and their differential activity among six primate species. Subsequently, we show that pseudogenes in reserve orientation relative to piRNA cluster transcription direction generally do not exhibit signs of selection pressure and cause weakly conserved targeting of homologous genes among species, suggesting a lack of functional constraints and thus only a minor significance for gene regulation in most cases. Finally, we report that piRNA-producing loci generally tend to be located in active genomic regions with elevated gene and pseudogene density. Thus, we conclude that the presence of most pseudogenes in piRNA clusters might be regarded as a byproduct of piRNA cluster generation, whereas this does not exclude that some pseudogenes nevertheless play critical roles in individual cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Gebert
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Hans Zischler
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - David Rosenkranz
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
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Gebert D, Jehn J, Rosenkranz D. Widespread selection for extremely high and low levels of secondary structure in coding sequences across all domains of life. Open Biol 2019; 9:190020. [PMID: 31138098 PMCID: PMC6544989 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.190020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Codon composition, GC content and local RNA secondary structures can have a profound effect on gene expression, and mutations affecting these parameters, even though they do not alter the protein sequence, are not neutral in terms of selection. Although evidence exists that, in some cases, selection favours more stable RNA secondary structures, we currently lack a concrete idea of how many genes are affected within a species, and whether this is a universal phenomenon in nature. We searched for signs of structural selection in a global manner, analysing a set of 1 million coding sequences from 73 species representing all domains of life, as well as viruses, by means of our newly developed software PACKEIS. We show that codon composition and amino acid identity are main determinants of RNA secondary structure. In addition, we show that the arrangement of synonymous codons within coding sequences is non-random, yielding extremely high, but also extremely low, RNA structuredness significantly more often than expected by chance. Taken together, we demonstrate that selection for high and low levels of secondary structure is a widespread phenomenon. Our results provide another line of evidence that synonymous mutations are less neutral than commonly thought, which is of importance for many evolutionary models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Gebert
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution iOME, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz , Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, 55099 Mainz , Germany
| | - Julia Jehn
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution iOME, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz , Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, 55099 Mainz , Germany
| | - David Rosenkranz
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution iOME, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz , Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, 55099 Mainz , Germany
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Jehn J, Gebert D, Pipilescu F, Stern S, Kiefer JST, Hewel C, Rosenkranz D. PIWI genes and piRNAs are ubiquitously expressed in mollusks and show patterns of lineage-specific adaptation. Commun Biol 2018; 1:137. [PMID: 30272016 PMCID: PMC6128900 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-018-0141-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
PIWI proteins and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) suppress transposon activity in animals, thus protecting their genomes from detrimental insertion mutagenesis. Here, we reveal that PIWI genes and piRNAs are ubiquitously expressed in mollusks, similar to the situation in arthropods. We describe lineage-specific adaptations of transposon composition in piRNA clusters in the great pond snail and the pacific oyster, likely reflecting differential transposon activity in gastropods and bivalves. We further show that different piRNA clusters with unique transposon composition are dynamically expressed during oyster development. Finally, bioinformatics analyses suggest that different populations of piRNAs presumably bound to different PIWI paralogs participate in homotypic and heterotypic ping-pong amplification loops in a tissue- and sex-specific manner. Together with recent findings from other animal species, our results support the idea that somatic piRNA expression represents the ancestral state in metazoans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Jehn
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - Daniel Gebert
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - Frank Pipilescu
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - Sarah Stern
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - Julian Simon Thilo Kiefer
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - Charlotte Hewel
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - David Rosenkranz
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 7, 55099, Mainz, Germany.
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Fast I, Hewel C, Wester L, Schumacher J, Gebert D, Zischler H, Berger C, Rosenkranz D. Temperature-responsive miRNAs in Drosophila orchestrate adaptation to different ambient temperatures. RNA 2017; 23:1352-1364. [PMID: 28630141 PMCID: PMC5558905 DOI: 10.1261/rna.061119.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The majority of Drosophila genes are expressed in a temperature-dependent manner, but the way in which small RNAs may contribute to this effect is completely unknown as we currently lack an idea of how small RNA transcriptomes change as a function of temperature. Applying high-throughput sequencing techniques complemented by quantitative real-time PCR experiments, we demonstrate that altered ambient temperature induces drastic but reversible changes in sequence composition and total abundance of both miRNA and piRNA populations. Further, mRNA sequencing reveals that the expression of miRNAs and their predicted target transcripts correlates inversely, suggesting that temperature-responsive miRNAs drive adaptation to different ambient temperatures on the transcriptome level. Finally, we demonstrate that shifts in temperature affect both primary and secondary piRNA pools, and the observed aberrations are consistent with altered expression levels of the involved Piwi-pathway factors. We further reason that enhanced ping-pong processing at 29°C is driven by dissolved RNA secondary structures at higher temperatures, uncovering target sites that are not accessible at low temperatures. Together, our results show that small RNAs are an important part of epigenetic regulatory mechanisms that ensure homeostasis and adaptation under fluctuating environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Fast
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Charlotte Hewel
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Laura Wester
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Julia Schumacher
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Daniel Gebert
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Hans Zischler
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - Christian Berger
- Institute of Developmental Biology and Neurobiology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
| | - David Rosenkranz
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Next generation sequencing is a key technique in small RNA biology research that has led to the discovery of functionally different classes of small non-coding RNAs in the past years. However, reliable annotation of the extensive amounts of small non-coding RNA data produced by high-throughput sequencing is time-consuming and requires robust bioinformatics expertise. Moreover, existing tools have a number of shortcomings including a lack of sensitivity under certain conditions, limited number of supported species or detectable sub-classes of small RNAs. RESULTS Here we introduce unitas, an out-of-the-box ready software for complete annotation of small RNA sequence datasets, supporting the wide range of species for which non-coding RNA reference sequences are available in the Ensembl databases (currently more than 800). unitas combines high quality annotation and numerous analysis features in a user-friendly manner. A complete annotation can be started with one simple shell command, making unitas particularly useful for researchers not having access to a bioinformatics facility. Noteworthy, the algorithms implemented in unitas are on par or even outperform comparable existing tools for small RNA annotation that map to publicly available ncRNA databases. CONCLUSIONS unitas brings together annotation and analysis features that hitherto required the installation of numerous different bioinformatics tools which can pose a challenge for the non-expert user. With this, unitas overcomes the problem of read normalization. Moreover, the high quality of sequence annotation and analysis, paired with the ease of use, make unitas a valuable tool for researchers in all fields connected to small RNA biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Gebert
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - Charlotte Hewel
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099, Mainz, Germany
| | - David Rosenkranz
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099, Mainz, Germany.
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Gebert D, Rosenkranz D. RNA-based regulation of transposon expression. WIREs RNA 2015; 6:687-708. [DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2015] [Revised: 09/08/2015] [Accepted: 09/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Gebert
- Institute of Anthropology; Johannes Gutenberg University; Mainz Germany
| | - David Rosenkranz
- Institute of Anthropology; Johannes Gutenberg University; Mainz Germany
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Gebert D, Ketting RF, Zischler H, Rosenkranz D. piRNAs from Pig Testis Provide Evidence for a Conserved Role of the Piwi Pathway in Post-Transcriptional Gene Regulation in Mammals. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0124860. [PMID: 25950437 PMCID: PMC4423968 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2015] [Accepted: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Piwi-interacting (pi-) RNAs guide germline-expressed Piwi proteins in order to suppress the activity of transposable elements (TEs). But notably, the majority of pachytene piRNAs in mammalian testes is not related to TEs. This raises the question of whether the Piwi/piRNA pathway exerts functions beyond TE silencing. Although gene-derived piRNAs were described many times, a possible gene-regulatory function was doubted due to the absence of antisense piRNAs. Here we sequenced and analyzed piRNAs expressed in the adult testis of the pig, as this taxon possesses the full set of mammalian Piwi paralogs while their spermatozoa are marked by an extreme fitness due to selective breeding. We provide an exhaustive characterization of porcine piRNAs and genomic piRNA clusters. Moreover, we reveal that both sense and antisense piRNAs derive from protein-coding genes, while exhibiting features that clearly show that they originate from the Piwi/piRNA-mediated post-transcriptional silencing pathway, commonly referred to as ping-pong cycle. We further show that the majority of identified piRNA clusters in the porcine genome spans exonic sequences of protein-coding genes or pseudogenes, which reveals a mechanism by which primary antisense piRNAs directed against mRNA can be generated. Our data provide evidence that spliced mRNAs, derived from such loci, are not only targeted by piRNAs but are also subject to ping-pong cycle processing. Finally, we demonstrate that homologous genes are targeted and processed by piRNAs in pig, mouse and human. Altogether, this strongly suggests a conserved role for the mammalian Piwi/piRNA pathway in post-transcriptional regulation of protein-coding genes, which did not receive much attention so far.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Gebert
- Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Hans Zischler
- Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany
| | - David Rosenkranz
- Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany
- * E-mail:
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Meister IG, Sparing R, Foltys H, Gebert D, Huber W, Töpper R, Boroojerdi B. Functional connectivity between cortical hand motor and language areas during recovery from aphasia. J Neurol Sci 2006; 247:165-8. [PMID: 16737714 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2006.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2005] [Revised: 02/03/2006] [Accepted: 04/10/2006] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Previous data indicate that in healthy subjects, there is a connectivity between cortical areas for hand movement and language on the left hemisphere. This link is possibly mediated by the so-called mirror neuron system. The present study investigated the functional relationship between linguistic and hand movement processing in patients who were recovering from post-stroke aphasia. The excitability of the right- and left-hand motor cortex during language production in patients who were recovering from post-stroke aphasia and age-matched controls was investigated. As control, phonation was investigated. Hand motor cortex excitability was assessed with Motor Evoked Potentials which were elicited by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). In patients, reading aloud enhanced the excitability of the right hemispheric hand motor cortex, whereas phonation had no effect on hand motor cortex excitability. In the control group, an increased excitability of the left hemispheric hand motor system was found during reading aloud in accordance with previous data. The present data suggest a functional connectivity between regions mediating hand movements and reading. This may indicate that the right hemisphere participates in language processing as far as involved in single word reading in patients recovering from aphasia. The coactivation between cerebral representations of hand movements and language may be used therapeutically for aphasia rehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- I G Meister
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30,52074 Aachen, Germany.
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