Summary
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs processed from stem-loop regions of primary transcripts (pri-miRNAs), with the choice of stem-loops for initial processing largely determining what becomes a miRNA. To identify sequence and structural features influencing this choice, we determined cleavage efficiencies of >50,000 variants of three human pri-miRNAs, focusing on the regions intractable to previous high-throughput analyses. Our analyses revealed a mismatched motif in the basal stem region, a preference for maintaining or improving base-pairing throughout the remainder of the stem, and a narrow stem-length preference of 35±1 base pairs. Incorporating these features with previously identified features, including three primary-sequence motifs, yielded a unifying model defining mammalian pri-miRNAs, in which motifs help orient processing and increase efficiency, with the presence of more motifs compensating for structural defects. This model enables generation of artificial pri-miRNAs, designed de novo, without reference to any natural sequence, yet processed more efficiently than natural pri-miRNAs.
Summary
Genome duality in ciliated protozoa offers a unique system to showcase their epigenome as a model of inheritance. In Oxytricha, the somatic genome is responsible for vegetative growth, while the germline contributes DNA to the next sexual generation. Somatic nuclear development removes all transposons and other so-called “junk DNA”, which comprise ~95% of the germline. We demonstrate that Piwi-interacting small RNAs (piRNAs) from the maternal nucleus can specify genomic regions for retention in this process. Oxytricha piRNAs map primarily to the somatic genome, representing the ~5% of the germline that is retained. Furthermore, injection of synthetic piRNAs corresponding to normally-deleted regions leads to their retention in later generations. Our findings highlight small RNAs (sRNAs) as powerful transgenerational carriers of epigenetic information for genome programming.
Ciliates are an ancient and diverse group of microbial eukaryotes that have emerged as powerful models for RNA-mediated epigenetic inheritance. They possess extensive sets of both tiny and long noncoding RNAs that, together with a suite of proteins that includes transposases, orchestrate a broad cascade of genome rearrangements during somatic nuclear development. This Review emphasizes three important themes: the remarkable role of RNA in shaping genome structure, recent discoveries that unify many deeply diverged ciliate genetic systems, and a surprising evolutionary “sign change” in the role of small RNAs between major species groups.
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