title: Aubergine iCLIP Reveals piRNA-Dependent Decay of mRNAs Involved in Germ Cell Development in the Early Embryo.
abstract: The Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway plays an essential role in the repression of transposons in the germline. Other functions of piRNAs such as post-transcriptional regulation of mRNAs are now emerging. Here, we perform iCLIP with the PIWI protein Aubergine (Aub) and identify hundreds of maternal mRNAs interacting with Aub in the early Drosophila embryo. Gene expression profiling reveals that a proportion of these mRNAs undergo Aub-dependent destabilization during the maternal-to-zygotic transition. Strikingly, Aub-dependent unstable mRNAs encode germ cell determinants. iCLIP with an Aub mutant that is unable to bind piRNAs confirms piRNA-dependent binding of Aub to mRNAs. Base pairing between piRNAs and mRNAs can induce mRNA cleavage and decay that are essential for embryonic development. These results suggest general regulation of maternal mRNAs by Aub and piRNAs, which plays a key developmental role in the embryo through decay and localization of mRNAs encoding germ cell determinants.
authors.affiliation: mRNA Regulation and Development, Institut de Génétique Humaine, CNRS, 141 rue de la Cardonille, 34396 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Bridlin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barckmann
authors.affiliation: mRNA Regulation and Development, Institut de Génétique Humaine, CNRS, 141 rue de la Cardonille, 34396 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pierson
authors.affiliation: mRNA Regulation and Development, Institut de Génétique Humaine, CNRS, 141 rue de la Cardonille, 34396 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Jérémy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dufourt
authors.affiliation: mRNA Regulation and Development, Institut de Génétique Humaine, CNRS, 141 rue de la Cardonille, 34396 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Papin
authors.affiliation: RNA Silencing and Control of Transposition, Institut de Génétique Humaine, CNRS, 141 rue de la Cardonille, 34396 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Armenise
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell Biology, Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK.
authors.forename: Fillip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Port
authors.affiliation: RNA Silencing and Control of Transposition, Institut de Génétique Humaine, CNRS, 141 rue de la Cardonille, 34396 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grentzinger
authors.affiliation: RNA Silencing and Control of Transposition, Institut de Génétique Humaine, CNRS, 141 rue de la Cardonille, 34396 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chambeyron
authors.affiliation: MGX-Montpellier GenomiX, c/o Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, 141 rue de la cardonille, 34094 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Grégory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baronian
authors.affiliation: MGX-Montpellier GenomiX, c/o Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, 141 rue de la cardonille, 34094 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Desvignes
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Tomaz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Curk
authors.affiliation: mRNA Regulation and Development, Institut de Génétique Humaine, CNRS, 141 rue de la Cardonille, 34396 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. Electronic address: martine.simonelig@igh.cnrs.fr.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simonelig
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010448:Peptide Initiation Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional; D020871:RNA Stability; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D010448:Peptide Initiation Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; C436124:aub protein, Drosophila