The Yb body, a major site for Piwi-associated RNA biogenesis and a gateway for Piwi expression and transport to the nucleus in somatic cells

Despite exciting progress in understanding the Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway in the germ line, less is known about this pathway in somatic cells. We showed previously that Piwi, a key component of the piRNA pathway in Drosophila, is regulated in somatic cells by Yb, a novel protein containing an RNA helicase-like motif and a Tudor-like domain. Yb is specifically expressed in gonadal somatic cells and regulates piwi in somatic niche cells to control germ line and somatic stem cell self-renewal. However, the molecular basis of the regulation remains elusive. Here, we report that Yb recruits Armitage (Armi), a putative RNA helicase involved in the piRNA pathway, to the Yb body, a cytoplasmic sphere to which Yb is exclusively localized. Moreover, co-immunoprecipitation experiments show that Yb forms a complex with Armi. In Yb mutants, Armi is dispersed throughout the cytoplasm, and Piwi fails to enter the nucleus and is rarely detectable in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, somatic piRNAs are drastically diminished, and soma-expressing transposons are desilenced. These observations indicate a crucial role of Yb and the Yb body in piRNA biogenesis, possibly by regulating the activity of Armi that controls the entry of Piwi into the nucleus for its function. Finally, we discovered putative endo-siRNAs in the flamenco locus and the Yb dependence of their expression. These observations further implicate a role for Yb in transposon silencing via both the piRNA and endo-siRNA pathways.     

褐飞虱表皮蛋白基因NlICP的克隆及功能研究

表皮蛋白与几丁质结合构成抵御外界不良环境的昆虫角质层, 在昆虫的生长发育及蜕皮硬化中具有重要的作用。为了探讨表皮蛋白基因在褐飞虱Nilaparvata lugens生长发育中的功能, 本研究根据褐飞虱转录组测序信息, 对其中1个预测为编码表皮蛋白的Unigene36450序列进行了克隆, 并应用荧光定量PCR和RNA干扰（RNAi）技术分别对该基因的表达规律和功能进行了研究。结果表明： 克隆的 Unigene36450全长cDNA开放阅读框长585 bp, 编码的蛋白含194个氨基酸, 具有典型的表皮蛋白R&R保守结构域, 命名为NlICP。转录水平的时序表达分析发现, NlICP仅在褐飞虱若虫期表达, 且在3龄若虫体内表达量最高, 提示该基因编码的蛋白属于幼虫表皮蛋白。RNA干扰结果显示, 取食dsNlICP的1龄末2龄初（孵化后第3 天）若虫在干扰6 d和8 d时, NlICP基因的表达量分别较取食dsGFP的对照组下降58.8%和45.6%, 差异极显著(P<0.01); 干扰后部分褐飞虱若虫因蜕皮不完全死亡, 干扰5 d的存活率较对照下降26.7%。本研究结果提示, NlICP与褐飞虱若虫的生长发育及蜕皮相关, 可以作为褐飞虱防治的潜在靶标基因。     

The regulation of mRNA stability in mammalian cells: 2.0

Messenger RNA decay is an essential step in gene expression to set mRNA abundance in the cytoplasm. The binding of proteins and/or noncoding RNAs to specific recognition sequences or secondary structures within mRNAs dictates mRNA decay rates by recruiting specific enzyme complexes that perform the destruction processes. Often, the cell coordinates the degradation or stabilization of functional subsets of mRNAs encoding proteins collectively required for a biological process. As well, extrinsic or intrinsic stimuli activate signal transduction pathways that modify the mRNA decay machinery with consequent effects on decay rates and mRNA abundance. This review is an update to our 2001 Gene review on mRNA stability in mammalian cells, and we survey the enormous progress made over the past decade.