title: Tissue- and Time-Specific Expression of Otherwise Identical tRNA Genes.
abstract: Codon usage bias affects protein translation because tRNAs that recognize synonymous codons differ in their abundance. Although the current dogma states that tRNA expression is exclusively regulated by intrinsic control elements (A- and B-box sequences), we revealed, using a reporter that monitors the levels of individual tRNA genes in Caenorhabditis elegans, that eight tryptophan tRNA genes, 100% identical in sequence, are expressed in different tissues and change their expression dynamically. Furthermore, the expression levels of the sup-7 tRNA gene at day 6 were found to predict the animal's lifespan. We discovered that the expression of tRNAs that reside within introns of protein-coding genes is affected by the host gene's promoter. Pairing between specific Pol II genes and the tRNAs that are contained in their introns is most likely adaptive, since a genome-wide analysis revealed that the presence of specific intronic tRNAs within specific orthologous genes is conserved across Caenorhabditis species.
authors: Department of Neurobiology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Dror
authors: D
authors: Sagi
authors: Department of Neurobiology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Roni
authors: R
authors: Rak
authors: Department of Molecular Genetics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
authors: Hila
authors: H
authors: Gingold
authors: Department of Neurobiology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Idan
authors: I
authors: Adir
authors: Department of Neurobiology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Gadi
authors: 0000-0002-9526-410X
authors: G
authors: Maayan
authors: Department of Molecular Genetics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
authors: Orna
authors: O
authors: Dahan
authors: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors: Limor
authors: L
authors: Broday
authors: Department of Molecular Genetics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
authors: Yitzhak
authors: Y
authors: Pilpel
authors: Department of Neurobiology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Oded
authors: O
authors: Rechavi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D016678:Genome; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics*; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D003062:Codon; D012343:RNA, Transfer