AU-rich elements regulate Drosophila gene expression.
In mammals, AU-rich elements (AREs) are critical regulators of mRNA turnover. They recruit ARE-binding proteins that inhibit or stimulate rapid mRNA degradation in response to stress or developmental cues. Using a bioinformatics approach, we have identified AREs in Drosophila melanogaster 3' untranslated regions and validated their cross-species conservation in distant Drosophila genomes. We have generated a Drosophila ARE database (D-ARED) and established that about 16% of D. melanogaster genes contain the mammalian ARE signature, an AUUUA pentamer in an A/U-rich context. Using candidate ARE genes, we show that Drosophila AREs stimulate reporter mRNA decay in cultured cells and in the physiological context of the immune response in D. melanogaster. In addition, we found that the conserved ARE-binding protein Tis11 regulates temporal gene expression through ARE-mediated decay (AMD) in D. melanogaster. Our work reveals that AREs are conserved and functional cis regulators of mRNA decay in Drosophila and highlights this organism as a novel model system to unravel in vivo the contribution of AMD to various processes.
Cairrao
Fatima
F
CBD, UMR 5547, CNRS-UPS, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 4, France.
Halees
Anason S
AS
Khabar
Khalid S A
KS
Morello
Dominique
D
Vanzo
Nathalie
N
D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020871:RNA Stability; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D051816:Tristetraprolin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D051816:Tristetraprolin; C031161:cecropin A