The genomic basis of circadian and circalunar timing adaptations in a midge.

Organisms use endogenous clocks to anticipate regular environmental cycles, such as days and tides. Natural variants resulting in differently timed behaviour or physiology, known as chronotypes in humans, have not been well characterized at the molecular level. We sequenced the genome of Clunio marinus, a marine midge whose reproduction is timed by circadian and circalunar clocks. Midges from different locations show strain-specific genetic timing adaptations. We examined genetic variation in five C. marinus strains from different locations and mapped quantitative trait loci for circalunar and circadian chronotypes. The region most strongly associated with circadian chronotypes generates strain-specific differences in the abundance of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II.1 (CaMKII.1) splice variants. As equivalent variants were shown to alter CaMKII activity in Drosophila melanogaster, and C. marinus (Cma)-CaMKII.1 increases the transcriptional activity of the dimer of the circadian proteins Cma-CLOCK and Cma-CYCLE, we suggest that modulation of alternative splicing is a mechanism for natural adaptation in circadian timing.

The hybrid state of tRNA binding is an authentic translation elongation intermediate.

The GTPase elongation factor (EF)-G is responsible for promoting the translocation of the messenger RNA-transfer RNA complex on the ribosome, thus opening up the A site for the next aminoacyl-tRNA. Chemical modification and cryo-EM studies have indicated that tRNAs can bind the ribosome in an alternative 'hybrid' state after peptidyl transfer and before translocation, though the relevance of this state during translation elongation has been a subject of debate. Here, using pre-steady-state kinetic approaches and mutant analysis, we show that translocation by EF-G is most efficient when tRNAs are bound in a hybrid state, supporting the argument that this state is an authentic intermediate during translation.

The decapping activator HPat a novel factor co-purifying with GW182 from Drosophila cells.

miRNAs post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression in many eukaryotes and thereby affect a wide range of biological processes. GW182 is a key factor in translation repression and mRNA degradation by miRNAs. In this study we investigate the potential interaction of GW182 and translation or mRNA degradation factors in Drosophila S2 cells. We have identified the decapping activator HP at as a novel factor co-purifying with GW182. Furthermore, we show that the C-terminal domain of GW182, important for gene silencing, is sufficient to form a complex with HP at. Our findings implicate a potential interaction of the miRNA effector component GW182 with the decapping machinery.

Substrate-assisted catalysis of peptide bond formation by the ribosome.

The ribosome accelerates the rate of peptide bond formation by at least 10(7)-fold, but the catalytic mechanism remains controversial. Here we report evidence that a functional group on one of the tRNA substrates plays an essential catalytic role in the reaction. Substitution of the P-site tRNA A76 2' OH with 2' H or 2' F results in at least a 10(6)-fold reduction in the rate of peptide bond formation, but does not affect binding of the modified substrates. Such substrate-assisted catalysis is relatively uncommon among modern protein enzymes, but it is a property predicted to be essential for the evolution of enzymatic function. These results suggest that substrate assistance has been retained as a catalytic strategy during the evolution of the prebiotic peptidyl transferase center into the modern ribosome.

Activity of 3'-thioAMP derivatives as ribosomal P-site substrates.

The ribosome is a large RNP complex but its main enzymatic activity, the peptidyl transferase, is a ribozyme. As many RNA enzymes use divalent metal ions in catalysis, one of the hypotheses put forward proposed that metal ions might aid peptide bond formation. To be able to test a possible coordination of a metal ion to the 3'-bridging oxygen of P-site substrates, a 3'-thioAMP was synthesized. Its chemical acylation with N-acetyl-L-leucine yielded both mono and diaminoacylated 3'-thioAMP. These thioated substrates were tested for peptide bond formation in an optimized fragment reaction in comparison with their unmodified counterparts. As the amino acid was predominantly linked to the unproductive 2'-OH in AcLeu-thioAMP (5), this substrate was barely active and not used for further analysis. In contrast, Di(AcLeu)-thioAMP (4) was more active than Di(AcLeu)-AMP (2) which is in line with the higher energy of thioesters. Both activities were slightly enhanced when Mn2+ containing buffers were employed in the assay. These data show that thioated P-site substrates are active in peptide bond formation and can in principle be used for metal-ion-rescue experiments in a full translation system.

Mononucleotide derivatives as ribosomal P-site substrates reveal an important contribution of the 2'-OH to activity.

The chemical synthesis of various acylaminoacylated mononucleotides is described and their activities as donor substrates for the ribosomal peptide synthesis were investigated using PhetRNA(Phe) as an acceptor. This minimal reaction was characterized in detail and was shown to be stimulated by CMP, cytidine and cytosine. By using several cytidine and cytosine analogs evidence is provided that this enhancement is rather caused by base pairing to rRNA, followed by a structural change, than by a base mediated general acid/base catalysis. Only derivatives of AMP proved active as P-site substrates. Further, a significant contribution of the 2'-OH to activity was indicated by the finding that AcLeu-dAMP was inactive as donor substrate, although it is a good inhibitor of peptide bond formation and thus, is presumably bound to the P-site. However, Di(AcLeu)-2'-OCH(3)-Ade and DiAcLeu-AMP were moderately active in this assay suggesting that the reactivity of the 3'-acylaminoacid ester is stimulated by the presence of the 2'-oxygen group. A model is discussed how further interactions of the 2'-OH in the transition state might influence peptidyl transferase activity.

General and MicroRNA-Mediated mRNA Degradation Occurs on Ribosome Complexes in Drosophila Cells.

The translation and degradation of mRNAs are two key steps in gene expression that are highly regulated and targeted by many factors, including microRNAs (miRNAs). While it is well established that translation and mRNA degradation are tightly coupled, it is still not entirely clear where in the cell mRNA degradation takes place. In this study, we investigated the possibility of mRNA degradation on the ribosome in Drosophila cells. Using polysome profiles and ribosome affinity purification, we could demonstrate the copurification of various deadenylation and decapping factors with ribosome complexes. Also, AGO1 and GW182, two key factors in the miRNA-mediated mRNA degradation pathway, were associated with ribosome complexes. Their copurification was dependent on intact mRNAs, suggesting the association of these factors with the mRNA rather than the ribosome itself. Furthermore, we isolated decapped mRNA degradation intermediates from ribosome complexes and performed high-throughput sequencing analysis. Interestingly, 93% of the decapped mRNA fragments (approximately 12,000) could be detected at the same relative abundance on ribosome complexes and in cell lysates. In summary, our findings strongly indicate the association of the majority of bulk mRNAs as well as mRNAs targeted by miRNAs with the ribosome during their degradation.

HPat a decapping activator interacting with the miRNA effector complex.

Animal miRNAs commonly mediate mRNA degradation and/or translational repression by binding to their target mRNAs. Key factors for miRNA-mediated mRNA degradation are the components of the miRNA effector complex (AGO1 and GW182) and the general mRNA degradation machinery (deadenylation and decapping enzymes). The CCR4-NOT1 complex required for the deadenylation of target mRNAs is directly recruited to the miRNA effector complex. However, it is unclear whether the following decapping step is only a consequence of deadenylation occurring independent of the miRNA effector complex or e.g. decapping activators can get recruited to the miRNA effector complex. In this study we performed split-affinity purifications in Drosophila cells and provide evidence for the interaction of the decapping activator HPat with the miRNA effector complex. Furthermore, in knockdown analysis of various mRNA degradation factors we demonstrate the importance of NOT1 for this interaction. This suggests that deadenylation and/or the recruitment of NOT1 protein precedes the association of HPat with the miRNA effector complex. Since HPat couples deadenylation and decapping, the recruitment of HPat to the miRNA effector complex provides a mechanism to commit the mRNA target for degradation.

Target-specific requirements for enhancers of decapping in miRNA-mediated gene silencing.

microRNAs (miRNAs) silence gene expression by suppressing protein production and/or by promoting mRNA decay. To elucidate how silencing is accomplished, we screened an RNA interference library for suppressors of miRNA-mediated regulation in Drosophila melanogaster cells. In addition to proteins known to be required for miRNA biogenesis and function (i.e., Drosha, Pasha, Dicer-1, AGO1, and GW182), the screen identified the decapping activator Ge-1 as being required for silencing by miRNAs. Depleting Ge-1 alone and/or in combination with other decapping activators (e.g., DCP1, EDC3, HPat, or Me31B) suppresses silencing of several miRNA targets, indicating that miRNAs elicit mRNA decapping. A comparison of gene expression profiles in cells depleted of AGO1 or of individual decapping activators shows that approximately 15% of AGO1-targets are also regulated by Ge-1, DCP1, and HPat, whereas 5% are dependent on EDC3 and LSm1-7. These percentages are underestimated because decapping activators are partially redundant. Furthermore, in the absence of active translation, some miRNA targets are stabilized, whereas others continue to be degraded in a miRNA-dependent manner. These findings suggest that miRNAs mediate post-transcriptional gene silencing by more than one mechanism.

A genomewide screen for components of the RNAi pathway in Drosophila cultured cells.

Posttranscriptional silencing by RNAi is initiated by dsRNAs that are processed into siRNAs that ultimately target homologous mRNAs for degradation. We used luciferase reporter constructs and a cultured cell-based assay to perform a genomewide screen for components of the RNAi pathway in Drosophila melanogaster. The screen identified seven genes that affect the RNAi response, five with previously described function (AGO2, Tis11, Hsc70-3, Hsc70-4, and hdc) and two annotated genes (CG17265 and CG10883).