A class of circadian long non-coding RNAs mark enhancers modulating long-range circadian gene regulation.
Circadian rhythm exerts its influence on animal physiology and behavior by regulating gene expression at various levels. Here we systematically explored circadian long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in mouse liver and examined their circadian regulation. We found that a significant proportion of circadian lncRNAs are expressed at enhancer regions, mostly bound by two key circadian transcription factors, BMAL1 and REV-ERBα. These circadian lncRNAs showed similar circadian phases with their nearby genes. The extent of their nuclear localization is higher than protein coding genes but less than enhancer RNAs. The association between enhancer and circadian lncRNAs is also observed in tissues other than liver. Comparative analysis between mouse and rat circadian liver transcriptomes showed that circadian transcription at lncRNA loci tends to be conserved despite of low sequence conservation of lncRNAs. One such circadian lncRNA termed lnc-Crot led us to identify a super-enhancer region interacting with a cluster of genes involved in circadian regulation of metabolism through long-range interactions. Further experiments showed that lnc-Crot locus has enhancer function independent of lnc-Crot's transcription. Our results suggest that the enhancer-associated circadian lncRNAs mark the genomic loci modulating long-range circadian gene regulation and shed new lights on the evolutionary origin of lncRNAs.
CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yue Yang Road, Shanghai 200031, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
Zenghua
Z
Fan
Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
Meng
M
Zhao
Department of Genes and Behavior, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Parth D
PD
Joshi
Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, 20 Dongdajie Street, Fengtai District, Beijing 100071, China.
Ping
P
Li
Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, 20 Dongdajie Street, Fengtai District, Beijing 100071, China.
Yan
Y
Zhang
Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
Weimin
W
Guo
CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yue Yang Road, Shanghai 200031, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
Yichi
Y
Xu
Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
Haifang
H
Wang
Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, 20 Dongdajie Street, Fengtai District, Beijing 100071, China.
Zhihu
Z
Zhao
Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
Jun
J
Yan
D056930:ARNTL Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000235:genetics*; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D056426:Genetic Loci; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D056953:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group D, Member 1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D059467:Transcriptome
D056930:ARNTL Transcription Factors; C538961:Bmal1 protein, mouse; C498262:Nr1d1 protein, mouse; D056953:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group D, Member 1; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding