GSE64991
The fission yeast MTREC complex targets CUTs and unspliced mRNAs to the nuclear exosome [RNA-Seq]
Cryptic unstable transcripts (CUTs) are rapidly degraded by the nuclear exosome, however, the way they are recognized and targeted to the exosome is not fully understood. The recently identified Schizosaccharomyces pombe MTREC complex has been shown to promote degradation of meiotic mRNAs and regulatory ncRNAs. Here, we report that the MTREC complex is also the major nuclear exosome targeting complex for CUTs and unspliced mRNAs. MTREC complex specifically binds to CUTs, meiotic mRNAs and unspliced mRNA transcripts and targets these RNAs for degradation by the nuclear exosome, while the TRAMP complex has only a minor role in this process. The MTREC complex physically interacts with the nuclear exosome and with various RNA-binding and -processing complexes, coupling RNA processing to the RNA degradation machinery. Our study reveals the central role of the evolutionarily conserved MTREC complex in RNA quality control, and in the recognition and elimination of aberrant, cryptic transcripts. Overall design: RNA sequencing of WT and mutant S.pombe strains, processed data is normalized to median non-intron containing gene-expression, no replicates