Progressive lengthening of 3' untranslated regions of mRNAs by alternative polyadenylation during mouse embryonic development.
The 3' untranslated regions (3' UTRs) of mRNAs contain cis-acting elements for posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. Here, we report that mouse genes tend to express mRNAs with longer 3' UTRs as embryonic development progresses. This global regulation is controlled by alternative polyadenylation and coordinates with initiation of organogenesis and aspects of embryonic development, including morphogenesis, differentiation, and proliferation. Using myogenesis of C2C12 myoblast cells as a model, we recapitulated this process in vitro and found that 3' UTR lengthening is likely caused by weakening of mRNA polyadenylation activity. Because alternative 3' UTR sequences are typically longer and have higher AU content than constitutive ones, our results suggest that lengthening of 3' UTR can significantly augment posttranscriptional control of gene expression during embryonic development, such as microRNA-mediated regulation.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA.
Zhe
Z
Ji
Ju Youn
JY
Lee
Zhenhua
Z
Pan
Bingjun
B
Jiang
Bin
B
Tian
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D026723:Polyadenylation
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions