title: Plant microRNAs display differential 3' truncation and tailing modifications that are ARGONAUTE1 dependent and conserved across species.
abstract: Plant small RNAs are 3' methylated by the methyltransferase HUA1 ENHANCER1 (HEN1). In plant hen1 mutants, 3' modifications of small RNAs, including oligo-uridylation (tailing), are associated with accelerated degradation of microRNAs (miRNAs). By sequencing small RNAs of the wild type and hen1 mutants from Arabidopsis thaliana, rice (Oryza sativa), and maize (Zea mays), we found 3' truncation prior to tailing is widespread in these mutants. Moreover, the patterns of miRNA truncation and tailing differ substantially among miRNA families but are conserved across species. The same patterns are also observable in wild-type libraries from a broad range of species, only at lower abundances. ARGONAUTE (AGO1), even with defective slicer activity, can bind these truncated and tailed variants of miRNAs. An ago1 mutation in hen1 suppressed such 3' modifications, indicating that they occur while miRNAs are in association with AGO1, either during or after RNA-induced silencing complex assembly. Our results showed AGO1-bound miRNAs are actively 3' truncated and tailed, possibly reflecting the activity of cofactors acting in conserved patterns in miRNA degradation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19711, USA.
authors.forename: Jixian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Stacey A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Petsch
authors.forename: Siwaret
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arikit
authors.forename: Manoj
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pillay
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Timmermans
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Blake C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Meyers
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D060565:Argonaute Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D008745:Methylation; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C117457:AGO1 protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D060565:Argonaute Proteins; C450825:HEN1 protein, Arabidopsis; D035683:MicroRNAs; D010940:Plant Proteins; D018749:RNA, Plant; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering