scholarly journals Small RNA molecules in the regulation of spermatogenesis

Reproduction ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (6) ◽  
pp. 901-911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuping He ◽  
Maria Kokkinaki ◽  
Disha Pant ◽  
G Ian Gallicano ◽  
Martin Dym
Keyword(s):  
Small Rna ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Pachytene Spermatocytes ◽  
Mitotic Proliferation

Small RNA molecules (small RNAs), including small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), have recently emerged as important regulators of gene expression at the post-transcriptional or translation level. Significant progress has recently been made utilizing small RNAs in elucidating the molecular mechanisms regulating spermatogenesis. Spermatogenesis is a complex process that involves the division and eventual differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells into mature spermatozoa. The process of spermatogenesis is composed of several phases: mitotic proliferation of spermatogonia to produce spermatocytes; two meiotic divisions of spermatocytes to generate haploid round spermatids; and spermiogenesis, the final phase that involves the maturation of early-round spermatids into elongated mature spermatids. A number of miRNAs are expressed abundantly in male germ cells throughout spermatogenesis, while piRNAs are only present in pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids. In this review, we first address the synthesis, mechanisms of action, and functions of siRNA, miRNA, and piRNA, and then we focus on the recent advancements in defining the small RNAs in the regulation of spermatogenesis. Concerns pertaining to the use of siRNAs in exploring spermatogenesis mechanisms and open questions in miRNAs and piRNAs in this field are highlighted. The potential applications of small RNAs to male contraception and treatment for male infertility and testicular cancer are also discussed.

Small RNAs in Plant Immunity and Virulence of Filamentous Pathogens

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongli Qiao ◽  
Rui Xia ◽  
Jixian Zhai ◽  
Yingnan Hou ◽  
Li Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Silencing ◽  
Small Rna ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Plant Immunity ◽  
Receptor Gene ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Host Pathogen

Gene silencing guided by small RNAs governs a broad range of cellular processes in eukaryotes. Small RNAs are important components of plant immunity because they contribute to pathogen-triggered transcription reprogramming and directly target pathogen RNAs. Recent research suggests that silencing of pathogen genes by plant small RNAs occurs not only during viral infection but also in nonviral pathogens through a process termed host-induced gene silencing, which involves trans-species small RNA trafficking. Similarly, small RNAs are also produced by eukaryotic pathogens and regulate virulence. This review summarizes the small RNA pathways in both plants and filamentous pathogens, including fungi and oomycetes, and discusses their role in host–pathogen interactions. We highlight secondary small interfering RNAs of plants as regulators of immune receptor gene expression and executors of host-induced gene silencing in invading pathogens. The current status and prospects of small RNAs trafficking at the host–pathogen interface are discussed. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Phytopathology, Volume 59 is August 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Small RNAs in parasitic nematodes – forms and functions

Parasitology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 147 (8) ◽  
pp. 855-864
Author(s):  
Collette Britton ◽  
Roz Laing ◽  
Eileen Devaney
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Small Rna ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Parasitic Nematodes ◽  
Small Rna Sequencing ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Rna Sequences ◽  
C Elegans

AbstractSmall RNAs are important regulators of gene expression. They were first identified in Caenorhabditis elegans, but it is now apparent that the main small RNA silencing pathways are functionally conserved across diverse organisms. Availability of genome data for an increasing number of parasitic nematodes has enabled bioinformatic identification of small RNA sequences. Expression of these in different lifecycle stages is revealed by small RNA sequencing and microarray analysis. In this review we describe what is known of the three main small RNA classes in parasitic nematodes – microRNAs (miRNAs), Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) – and their proposed functions. miRNAs regulate development in C. elegans and the temporal expression of parasitic nematode miRNAs suggest modulation of target gene levels as parasites develop within the host. miRNAs are also present in extracellular vesicles released by nematodes in vitro, and in plasma from infected hosts, suggesting potential regulation of host gene expression. Roles of piRNAs and siRNAs in suppressing target genes, including transposable elements, are also reviewed. Recent successes in RNAi-mediated gene silencing, and application of small RNA inhibitors and mimics will continue to advance understanding of small RNA functions within the parasite and at the host–parasite interface.

scholarly journals Molecular mechanisms of Dicer: endonuclease and enzymatic activity

2017 ◽  
Vol 474 (10) ◽  
pp. 1603-1618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min-Sun Song ◽  
John J. Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Enzymatic Activity ◽  
Small Rna ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Small Interfering Rna ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Interfering Rna ◽  
Exogenous Substrates

The enzyme Dicer is best known for its role as a riboendonuclease in the small RNA pathway. In this canonical role, Dicer is a critical regulator of the biogenesis of microRNA and small interfering RNA, as well as a growing number of additional small RNAs derived from various sources. Emerging evidence demonstrates that Dicer's endonuclease role extends beyond the generation of small RNAs; it is also involved in processing additional endogenous and exogenous substrates, and is becoming increasingly implicated in regulating a variety of other cellular processes, outside of its endonuclease function. This review will describe the canonical and newly identified functions of Dicer.

scholarly journals Levels of sdRNAs in cytoplasm and their association with ribosomes are dependent upon stress conditions but independent from snoRNA expression

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Mleczko ◽  
Piotr Machtel ◽  
Mateusz Walkowiak ◽  
Anna Wasilewska ◽  
Piotr J. Pietras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Small Rna ◽  
Inhibitory Activity ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Stress Conditions ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Stress Dependent ◽  
Ribosome Association

AbstractIn recent years, a number of small RNA molecules derived from snoRNAs have been observed. Findings concerning the functions of snoRNA-derived small RNAs (sdRNAs) in cells are limited primarily to their involvement in microRNA pathways. However, similar molecules have been observed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is an organism lacking miRNA machinery. Here we examined the subcellular localization of sdRNAs in yeast. Our findings reveal that both sdRNAs and their precursors, snoRNAs, are present in the cytoplasm at levels dependent upon stress conditions. Moreover, both sdRNAs and snoRNAs may interact with translating ribosomes in a stress-dependent manner. Likely consequential to their ribosome association and protein synthesis suppression features, yeast sdRNAs may exert inhibitory activity on translation. Observed levels of sdRNAs and snoRNAs in the cytoplasm and their apparent presence in the ribosomal fractions suggest independent regulation of these molecules by yet unknown factors.

scholarly journals RppH can faithfully replace TAP to allow cloning of 5’-triphosphate carrying small RNAs

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Vasconcelos Almeida ◽  
António Miguel de Jesus Domingues ◽  
Hanna Lukas ◽  
Maria Mendez-Lago ◽  
René F. Ketting
Keyword(s):  
Small Rna ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Small Rna Sequencing ◽  
Cloning Efficiency ◽  
Library Preparation ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Rdrp Activity ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Rna Pathways ◽  
Small Rna Species

AbstractRNA interference was first described in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Ever since, several new endogenous small RNA pathways have been described and characterized to different degrees. Much like plants, but unlike Drosophila and mammals, worms have RNA-dependent RNA Polymerases (RdRPs) that directly synthesize small RNAs using other transcripts as a template. The very prominent secondary small interfering RNAs, also called 22G-RNAs, produced by the RdRPs RRF-1 and EGO-1 in C. elegans, maintain the 5’ triphosphate group, stemming from RdRP activity, also after loading into an Argonaute protein. This creates a technical issue, since 5’PPP groups decrease cloning efficiency for small RNA sequencing. To increase cloning efficiency of these small RNA species, a common practice in the field is the treatment of RNA samples, prior to library preparation, with Tobacco Acid pyrophosphatase (TAP). Recently, TAP production and supply was discontinued, so an alternative must be devised. We turned to RNA 5’ pyrophosphohydrolase (RppH), a commercially available pyrophosphatase isolated from E. coli. Here we directly compare TAP and RppH in their use for small RNA library preparation. We show that RppH-treated samples faithfully recapitulate TAP-treated samples. Specifically, there is enrichment for 22G-RNAs and mapped small RNA reads show no small RNA transcriptome-wide differences between RppH and TAP treatment. We propose that RppH can be used as a small RNA pyrophosphatase to enrich for triphosphorylated small RNA species and show that RppH- and TAP-derived datasets can be used in direct comparison.

scholarly journals The Diversity of Plant Small RNAs Silencing Mechanisms

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 362-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens A. Schröder ◽  
Pauline E. Jullien
Keyword(s):  
Gene Regulation ◽  
Gene Silencing ◽  
Small Rna ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Genome Stability ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Transcriptional Gene Silencing ◽  
Regulation Mechanism ◽  
Regulatory Processes ◽  
Post Transcriptional Gene Silencing

Small RNAs gene regulation was first discovered about 20 years ago. It represents a conserve gene regulation mechanism across eukaryotes and is associated to key regulatory processes. In plants, small RNAs tightly regulate development, but also maintain genome stability and protect the plant against pathogens. Small RNA gene regulation in plants can be divided in two canonical pathways: Post-transcriptional Gene Silencing (PTGS) that results in transcript degradation and/or translational inhibition or Transcriptional Gene Silencing (TGS) that results in DNA methylation. In this review, we will focus on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We will provide a brief overview of the molecular mechanisms involved in canonical small RNA pathways as well as introducing more atypical pathways recently discovered.

scholarly journals Abolished miR158 activity leads to 21-nucleotide tertiary phasiRNA biogenesis that targets NHX2 in Arabidopsis thaliana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhinandan Mani Tripathi ◽  
Rajneesh Singh ◽  
Akanksha Singh ◽  
Ashwani Kumar Verma ◽  
Parneeta Mishra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Small Rna ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Primary Transcript ◽  
Over Expression ◽  
Additional Layer ◽  
Natural Variants ◽  
Non Coding Rnas

ABSTRACTSmall RNAs including microRNAs (miRNAs) are short 20-24-nucleotide non-coding RNAs. They are key regulators of gene expression in plants and other organisms. Some small RNAs, mostly 22-nucleotide long trigger biogenesis of secondary small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Those siRNAs having distinctive phased configuration are known as phased siRNAs (phasiRNAs) and act either in cis or trans enhancing silencing cascade. Here, we report natural variants of MIR158 having deletions or insertions led to negligible or reduced expression of miR158. The deletion/insertion events affected processing of primary transcript of miR158 to precursor and to mature miR158. We show that miR158 targets a pseudo-pentatricopeptide gene and its abolished activity led to 21-nucleotide tertiary phasiRNA generation from its target. The biogenesis of these phasiRNAS is triggered by TAS2 derived two siRNAs. Accordingly, small RNA analyses of these natural variants, mutants and over-expression lines of MIR158 or its target exhibited enhanced or reduced phasiRNA biogenesis. Finally, we functionally validated the highest expressed tertiary phasiRNA that targets NHX2 thereby regulating transpiration and stomatal conductance. Overall, we deciphered a new module of small RNA network, miRNA-TAS-siRNA-pseudogene-tertiary phasiRNA-NHX2, suggesting an additional layer of gene regulation and larger role of pseudogene in plants.

scholarly journals Finding differentially expressed sRNA-Seq regions with srnadiff

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0256196
Author(s):  
Matthias Zytnicki ◽  
Ignacio González
Keyword(s):  
Gene Regulation ◽  
Small Rna ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
External Information ◽  
Small Rna Sequencing ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Genomic Annotation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Precursor Rna

Small RNAs (sRNAs) encompass a great variety of molecules of different kinds, such as microRNAs, small interfering RNAs, Piwi-associated RNA, among others. These sRNAs have a wide range of activities, which include gene regulation, protection against virus, transposable element silencing, and have been identified as a key actor in determining the development of the cell. Small RNA sequencing is thus routinely used to assess the expression of the diversity of sRNAs, usually in the context of differentially expression, where two conditions are compared. Tools that detect differentially expressed microRNAs are numerous, because microRNAs are well documented, and the associated genes are well defined. However, tools are lacking to detect other types of sRNAs, which are less studied, and whose precursor RNA is not well characterized. We present here a new method, called srnadiff, which finds all kinds of differentially expressed sRNAs. To the extent of our knowledge, srnadiff is the first tool that detects differentially expressed sRNAs without the use of external information, such as genomic annotation or additional sequences of sRNAs.

scholarly journals Reproductive phasiRNA loci and DICER-LIKE5, but not microRNA loci, diversified in monocotyledonous plants

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parth Patel ◽  
Sandra M. Mathioni ◽  
Reza Hammond ◽  
Alex E. Harkess ◽  
Atul Kakrana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Duplication ◽  
Small Rna ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Large Collection ◽  
Signatures Of Selection ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Grass Genomes

AbstractIn monocots other than maize and rice, the repertoire and diversity of microRNAs (miRNAs) and the populations of phased, secondary, small interfering RNAs (phasiRNAs) are poorly characterized. To remedy this, we sequenced small RNAs from vegetative and dissected inflorescence tissue in 28 phylogenetically diverse monocots and from several early-diverging angiosperm lineages, as well as publicly available data from 10 additional monocot species. We annotated miRNAs, siRNAs and phasiRNAs across the monocot phylogeny, identifying miRNAs apparently lost or gained in the grasses relative to other monocot families, as well as a number of tRNA fragments misannotated as miRNAs. Using our miRNA database cleaned of these misannotations, we identified conservation at the 8th, 9th, 19th and 3’ end positions that we hypothesize are signatures of selection for processing, targeting, or Argonaute sorting. We show that 21-nt reproductive phasiRNAs are far more numerous in grass genomes than other monocots. Based on sequenced monocot genomes and transcriptomes, DICER-LIKE5 (DCL5), important to 24-nt phasiRNA biogenesis, likely originated via gene duplication before the diversification of the grasses. This curated database of phylogenetically diverse monocot miRNAs, siRNAs, and phasiRNAs represents a large collection of data that should facilitate continued exploration of small RNA diversification in flowering plants.

scholarly journals From transcription to translation: new insights in the structure and function of Argonaute protein

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 545-559
Author(s):  
Corinna Giorgi ◽  
Carlo Cogoni ◽  
Caterina Catalanotto
Keyword(s):  
Small Rna ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Biological Function ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Argonaute Proteins ◽  
Ancestral Function ◽  
Higher Eukaryotes ◽  
Silencing Pathways ◽  
Genome Protection ◽  
And Function

AbstractArgonaute proteins play a central role in gene silencing pathways mediated by small RNA molecules. The ancestral function of small RNA-dependent silencing is related to genome protection against parasitic nucleic acids, such as transposons and viruses. However, new classes of small RNAs are continuously being uncovered in all higher eukaryotes in which they play important functions in processes ranging from embryonic development to differentiation to cell proliferation and metabolism. Small RNAs have variegated biogenesis pathways and accomplish distinct functions. Nevertheless, it appears that all small RNAs work merely as guides in recognizing the target RNAs invariably relying on the interaction with Argonaute proteins and associated factors for their biological function. Here, we discuss recent findings on the structure and regulation of mammalian Argonaute proteins and overview the various roles that these versatile proteins play in regulating gene expression.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document