Circadian control of mRNA polyadenylation dynamics regulates rhythmic protein expression.

Poly(A) tails are 3' modifications of eukaryotic mRNAs that are important in the control of translation and mRNA stability. We identified hundreds of mouse liver mRNAs that exhibit robust circadian rhythms in the length of their poly(A) tails. Approximately 80% of these are primarily the result of nuclear adenylation coupled with rhythmic transcription. However, unique decay kinetics distinguish these mRNAs from other mRNAs that are transcribed rhythmically but do not exhibit poly(A) tail rhythms. The remaining 20% are uncoupled from transcription and exhibit poly(A) tail rhythms even though the steady-state mRNA levels are not rhythmic. These are under the control of rhythmic cytoplasmic polyadenylation, regulated at least in some cases by cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding proteins (CPEBs). Importantly, we found that the rhythmicity in poly(A) tail length is closely correlated with rhythmic protein expression, with a several-hour delay between the time of longest tail and the time of highest protein level. Our study demonstrates that the circadian clock regulates the dynamic polyadenylation status of mRNAs, which can result in rhythmic protein expression independent of the steady-state levels of the message.

Changes in poly(A) tail length dynamics from the loss of the circadian deadenylase Nocturnin.

mRNA poly(A) tails are important for mRNA stability and translation, and enzymes that regulate the poly(A) tail length significantly impact protein profiles. There are eleven putative deadenylases in mammals, and it is thought that each targets specific transcripts, although this has not been clearly demonstrated. Nocturnin (NOC) is a unique deadenylase with robustly rhythmic expression and loss of Noc in mice (Noc KO) results in resistance to diet-induced obesity. In an attempt to identify target transcripts of NOC, we performed "poly(A)denylome" analysis, a method that measures poly(A) tail length of transcripts in a global manner, and identified 213 transcripts that have extended poly(A) tails in Noc KO liver. These transcripts share unexpected characteristics: they are short in length, have long half-lives, are actively translated, and gene ontology analyses revealed that they are enriched in functions in ribosome and oxidative phosphorylation pathways. However, most of these transcripts do not exhibit rhythmicity in poly(A) tail length or steady-state mRNA level, despite Noc's robust rhythmicity. Therefore, even though the poly(A) tail length dynamics seen between genotypes may not result from direct NOC deadenylase activity, these data suggest that NOC exerts strong effects on physiology through direct and indirect control of target mRNAs.