THO2, a core member of the THO/TREX complex,is required for microRNA production in Arabidopsis

The THO/TREX complex mediates transport of nascent mRNAs from the nucleus towards the cytoplasm in animals, and has a role in small interfering RNA‐dependent processes in plants. Here we describe five mutant alleles of Arabidopsis thaliana THO2, which encodes a core subunit of the plant THO/TREX complex. tho2 mutants present strong developmental defects resembling those in plants compromised in microRNA (miRNA) activity. In agreement, not only were the levels of siRNAs reduced in tho2 mutants, but also those of mature miRNAs. As a consequence, a feedback mechanism is triggered, increasing the amount of miRNA precursors, and finally causing accumulation of miRNA‐targeted mRNAs. Yeast two‐hybrid experiments and confocal microscopy showed that THO2 does not appear to interact with any of the known miRNA biogenesis components, but rather with the splicing machinery, implying an indirect role of THO2 in small RNA biogenesis. Using an RNA immunoprecipitation approach, we found that THO2 interacts with miRNA precursors, and that tho2 mutants fail to recruit such precursors into the miRNA‐processing complex, explaining the reduction in miRNA production in this mutant background. We also detected alterations in the splicing pattern of genes encoding serine/arginine‐rich proteins in tho2 mutants, supporting a previously unappreciated role of the THO/TREX complex in alternative splicing.     

The THO/TREX complex functions in disease resistance in Arabidopsis

Powdery mildew pathogens are biotrophic fungi that infect large number of plant species. EDR1 (ENHANCED DISEASE RESISTANCE 1) is a negative regulator of plant disease resistance, and loss-of-function in the EDR1 gene confers enhanced disease resistance to powdery mildew pathogen Golovinomyces cichoracearum. In an edr1 suppressor screen, we recently found that a mutation in HPR1, a component of the THO/TREX complex, suppresses edr1-mediated disease resistance, however the hpr1 mutation enhances the ethylene-induced senescence in edr1. The hpr1 single mutant displays enhanced susceptibility, indicating that HPR1 is involved in plant defense responses.¹ THO/TREX is a conserved protein complex that functions in pre-mRNA processing and mRNA export. Several components of THO/TREX complex in Arabidopsis have been identified. By searching Arabidopsis database, we found that Arabidopsis (Columbia-0) has two copies of UAP56, another component of the THO/TREX complex, and the UAP56 proteins are highly conserved. Similar to human UAP56 protein, Arabidopsis UAP56 also localizes to the nucleus, showing a pattern similar to the splicing speckles. Further characterization of the components of THO/TREX in Arabidopsis will provide new insights into the role of THO/TREX in defense responses in plants.     

THO complex deficiency impairs DNA double-strand break repair via the RNA surveillance kinase SMG-1

The integrity and proper expression of genomes are safeguarded by DNA and RNA surveillance pathways. While many RNA surveillance factors have additional functions in the nucleus, little is known about the incidence and physiological impact of converging RNA and DNA signals. Here, using genetic screens and genome-wide analyses, we identified unforeseen SMG-1-dependent crosstalk between RNA surveillance and DNA repair in living animals. Defects in RNA processing, due to viable THO complex or PNN-1 mutations, induce a shift in DNA repair in dividing and non-dividing tissues. Loss of SMG-1, an ATM/ATR-like kinase central to RNA surveillance by nonsense-mediated decay (NMD), restores DNA repair and radio-resistance in THO-deficient animals. Mechanistically, we find SMG-1 and its downstream target SMG-2/UPF1, but not NMD per se, to suppress DNA repair by non-homologous end-joining in favour of single strand annealing. We postulate that moonlighting proteins create short-circuits in vivo, allowing aberrant RNA to redirect DNA repair.     

nup1 mutants exhibit pleiotropic defects in nuclear pore complex function

The NUP1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes one member of a family of nuclear pore complex proteins (nucleoporins) conserved from yeast to vertebrates. We have used mutational analysis to investigate the function of Nup1p. Deletion of either the amino- or carboxy- terminal domain confers a lethal phenotype, but partial truncations at either end affect growth to varying extents. Amino-terminal truncation causes mislocalization and degradation of the mutant protein, suggesting that this domain is required for targeting Nup1p to the nuclear pore complex. Carboxy-terminal mutants are stable but do not have wild-type function, and confer a temperature sensitive phenotype. Both import of nuclear proteins and export of poly(A) RNA are defective at the nonpermissive temperature. In addition, nup1 mutant cells become multinucleate at all temperatures, a phenotype suggestive of a defect in nuclear migration. Tubulin staining revealed that the mitotic spindle appears to be oriented randomly with respect to the bud, in spite of the presence of apparently normal cytoplasmic microtubules connecting one spindle pole body to the bud tip. EM analysis showed that the nuclear envelope forms long projections extending into the cytoplasm, which appear to have detached from the bulk of the nucleus. Our results suggest that Nup1p may be required to retain the structural integrity between the nuclear envelope and an underlying nuclear scaffold, and that this connection is required to allow reorientation of the nucleus in response to cytoskeletal forces.     

Dissecting non-canonical interactions in frameshift-stimulating mRNA pseudoknots

A variety of powerful NMR experiments have been introduced over the last few years that allow for the direct identification of different combinations of donor and acceptor atoms involved in hydrogen bonds in biomolecules. This ability to directly observe tertiary structural hydrogen bonds in solution tremendously facilitates structural studies of nucleic acids. We show here that an adiabatic HNN-COSY pulse scheme permits observation and measurement of J(N,N) couplings for nitrogen sites that are separated by up to 140 ppm in a single experiment at a proton resonance frequency of 500 MHz. Crucial hydrogen bond acceptor sites in nucleic acids, such as cytidine N3 nitrogens, can be unambiguously identified even in the absence of detectable H41 and H42 amino protons using a novel triple-resonance two-dimensional experiment, denoted H5(C5C4)N3. The unambiguous identification of amino nitrogen donor and aromatic nitrogen acceptor sites associated with both major groove as well as minor groove triple base pairs reveal the details of hydrogen bonding networks that stabilize the complex architecture of frameshift-stimulating mRNA pseudoknots. Another key tertiary interaction involving a 2′-OH hydroxyl proton that donates a hydrogen bond to an aromatic nitrogen acceptor in a cis Watson–Crick/sugar edge interaction can also be directly detected using a quantitative J(H,N) ¹H,¹⁵N-HSQC experiment.     

The THO complex is required for nucleolar integrity in Drosophila spermatocytes

The THO complex is a conserved multisubunit protein complex that functions in the formation of export-competent messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP). Although the complex has been studied extensively at the single-cell level, its exact role at the multicellular organism level has been poorly understood. Here, we isolated a novel Drosophila male sterile mutant, garmcho (garm). Positional cloning indicated that garm encodes a subunit of the Drosophila THO complex, THOC5. Flies lacking THOC5 showed a meiotic arrest phenotype with severe nucleolar disruption in primary spermatocytes. A functional GFP-tagged fusion protein, THOC5-GFP, revealed a unique pattern of THOC5 localization near the nucleolus. The nucleolar distribution of a testis-specific TATA binding protein (TBP)-associated factor (tTAF), SA, which is required for the expression of genes responsible for sperm differentiation, was severely disrupted in mutant testes lacking THOC5. But THOC5 appeared to be largely dispensable for the expression and nuclear export of either tTAF target mRNAs or tTAF-independent mRNAs. Taken together, our study suggests that the Drosophila THO complex is necessary for proper spermatogenesis by contribution to the establishment or maintenance of nucleolar integrity rather than by nuclear mRNA export in spermatocytes.     

A nuclear envelope protein linking nuclear pore basket assembly, SUMO protease regulation, and mRNA surveillance

The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is both the major conduit for nucleocytoplasmic trafficking and a platform for organizing macromolecules at the nuclear envelope. We report that yeast Esc1, a non-NPC nuclear envelope protein, is required both for proper assembly of the nuclear basket, a structure extending into the nucleus from the NPC, and for normal NPC localization of the Ulp1 SUMO protease. In esc1Delta cells, Ulp1 and nuclear basket components Nup60 and Mlp1 no longer distribute broadly around the nuclear periphery, but co-localize in a small number of dense-staining perinuclear foci. Loss of Esc1 (or Nup60) alters SUMO conjugate accumulation and enhances ulp1 mutant defects. Similar to previous findings with Mlp1, both Esc1 and Ulp1 help retain unspliced pre-mRNAs in the nucleus. Therefore, these proteins are essential for proper nuclear basket function, which includes mRNA surveillance and regulation of SUMO protein dynamics. The results raise the possibility that NPC-localized protein desumoylation may be a key regulatory event preventing inappropriate pre-mRNA export.     

mRNA surveillance mitigates genetic dominance in Caenorhabditis elegans

Nonsense mutant mRNAs are unstable in all eucaryotes tested, a phenomenon termed nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) or mRNA surveillance. Functions of the seven smg genes are required for mRNA surveillance in Caenorhabditis elegans. In Smg(+) genetic backgrounds, nonsense-mutant mRNAs are unstable, while in Smg(−) backgrounds such mRNAs are stable. Previous work has demonstrated that the elevated level of nonsense-mutant mRNAs in Smg(−) animals can influence the phenotypic effects of heterozygous nonsense mutations. Certain nonsense alleles of a muscle myosin heavy chain gene are recessive in Smg(+) backgrounds but strongly dominant in Smg(−) backgrounds. Such alleles probably express disruptive myosin polypeptide fragments whose abundance is elevated in smg mutants due to elevation of mRNA levels. We report here that mutations in a variety of C. elegans genes are strongly dominant in Smg(−), but recessive or only weakly dominant in Smg(+) backgrounds. We isolated 32 dominant visible mutations in a Smg(−) genetic background and tested whether their dominance requires a functional NMD system. The dominance of 21 of these mutations is influenced by NMD. We demonstrate, furthermore, that in the case of myosin, the dominant-negative effects of nonsense alleles are likely to be due to expression of N-terminal nonsense-fragment polypeptides, not to mistranslation of the nonsense codons. mRNA surveillance, therefore, may mitigate potentially deleterious effects of many heterozygous germline and somatic nonsense or frameshift mutations. We also provide evidence that smg-6, a gene previously identified as being required for NMD, performs essential function(s) in addition to its role in NMD. Received: 10 June 1998 / Accepted: 21 July 1998     

RanBP2/Nup358 provides a major binding site for NXF1-p15 dimers at the nuclear pore complex and functions in nuclear mRNA export

Metazoan NXF1-p15 heterodimers promote the nuclear export of bulk mRNA across nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). In vitro, NXF1-p15 forms a stable complex with the nucleoporin RanBP2/Nup358, a component of the cytoplasmic filaments of the NPC, suggesting a role for this nucleoporin in mRNA export. We show that depletion of RanBP2 from Drosophila cells inhibits proliferation and mRNA export. Concomitantly, the localization of NXF1 at the NPC is strongly reduced and a significant fraction of this normally nuclear protein is detected in the cytoplasm. Under the same conditions, the steady-state subcellular localization of other nuclear or cytoplasmic proteins and CRM1-mediated protein export are not detectably affected, indicating that the release of NXF1 into the cytoplasm and the inhibition of mRNA export are not due to a general defect in NPC function. The specific role of RanBP2 in the recruitment of NXF1 to the NPC is highlighted by the observation that depletion of CAN/Nup214 also inhibits cell proliferation and mRNA export but does not affect NXF1 localization. Our results indicate that RanBP2 provides a major binding site for NXF1 at the cytoplasmic filaments of the NPC, thereby restricting its diffusion in the cytoplasm after NPC translocation. In RanBP2-depleted cells, NXF1 diffuses freely through the cytoplasm. Consequently, the nuclear levels of the protein decrease and export of bulk mRNA is impaired.     

Isolation and characterization of new Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants perturbed in nuclear pore complex assembly

Background  

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are essential for facilitated, directional nuclear transport; however, the mechanism by which ~30 different nucleoporins (nups) are assembled into NPCs is unknown. We combined a genetic strategy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with Green Fluorescence Protein (GFP) technology to identify mutants in NPC structure, assembly, and localization. To identify such mutants, a bank of temperature sensitive strains was generated and examined by fluorescence microscopy for mislocalization of GFP-tagged nups at the non-permissive temperature.     

Aly and THO are required for assembly of the human TREX complex and association of TREX components with the spliced mRNA

The mRNA export complex TREX (TREX) is known to contain Aly, UAP56, Tex1 and the THO complex, among which UAP56 is required for TREX assembly. Here, we systematically investigated the role of each human TREX component in TREX assembly and its association with the mRNA. We found that Tex1 is essentially a subunit of the THO complex. Aly, THO and UAP56 are all required for assembly of TREX, in which Aly directly interacts with THO subunits Thoc2 and Thoc5. Both Aly and THO function in linking UAP56 to the cap-binding protein CBP80. Interestingly, association of UAP56 with the spliced mRNA, but not with the pre-mRNA, requires Aly and THO. Unexpectedly, we found that Aly and THO require each other to associate with the spliced mRNA. Consistent with these biochemical results, similar to Aly and UAP56, THO plays critical roles in mRNA export. Together, we propose that Aly, THO and UAP56 form a highly integrated unit to associate with the spliced mRNA and function in mRNA export.