PAXT-1 promotes XRN2 activity by stabilizing it through a conserved domain.

XRN2 is an essential eukaryotic exoribonuclease that processes and degrades various substrates. Here we identify the previously uncharacterized protein R05D11.6/PAXT-1 as a subunit of an XRN2 complex in C. elegans. Targeted paxt-1 inactivation through TALEN-mediated genome editing reduces XRN2 levels, decreases miRNA turnover activity, and results in worm death, which can be averted by overexpressing xrn-2. Hence, stabilization of XRN2 is a major function of PAXT-1. A truncated PAXT-1 protein retaining a predicted domain of unknown function (DUF3469) suffices to restore viability to paxt-1 mutant animals, elevates XRN2 levels, and binds to XRN2. This domain occurs in additional metazoan proteins and mediates interaction of human CDKN2AIP/CARF and NKRF/NRF with XRN2. Thus, we have identified a bona fide XRN2-binding domain (XTBD) that can link different proteins, and possibly functionalities, to XRN2.

The decapping scavenger enzyme DCS-1 controls microRNA levels in Caenorhabditis elegans.

In metazoans, microRNAs play a critical role in the posttranscriptional regulation of genes required for cell proliferation and differentiation. MicroRNAs themselves are regulated by a multitude of mechanisms influencing their transcription and posttranscriptional maturation. However, there is only sparse knowledge on pathways regulating the mature, functional form of microRNA. Here, we uncover the implication of the decapping scavenger protein DCS-1 in the control of microRNA turnover. In Caenorhabditis elegans, mutations in dcs-1 increase the levels of functional microRNAs. We demonstrate that DCS-1 interacts with the exonuclease XRN-1 to promote microRNA degradation in an independent manner from its known decapping scavenger activity, establishing two molecular functions for DCS-1. Our findings thus indicate that DCS-1 is part of a degradation complex that performs microRNA turnover in animals.

The ribonucleotidyl transferase USIP-1 acts with SART3 to promote U6 snRNA recycling.

The spliceosome is a large molecular machine that serves to remove the intervening sequences that are present in most eukaryotic pre-mRNAs. At its core are five small nuclear ribonucleoprotein complexes, the U1, U2, U4, U5 and U6 snRNPs, which undergo dynamic rearrangements during splicing. Their reutilization for subsequent rounds of splicing requires reversion to their original configurations, but little is known about this process. Here, we show that ZK863.4/USIP-1 (U Six snRNA-Interacting Protein-1) is a ribonucleotidyl transferase that promotes accumulation of the Caenorhabditis elegans U6 snRNA. Endogenous USIP-1-U6 snRNA complexes lack the Lsm proteins that constitute the protein core of the U6 snRNP, but contain the U6 snRNP recycling factor SART3/B0035.12. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation experiments suggest that SART3 but not USIP-1 occurs also in a separate complex containing both the U4 and U6 snRNPs. Based on this evidence, genetic interaction between usip-1 and sart-3, and the apparent dissociation of Lsm proteins from the U6 snRNA during spliceosome activation, we propose that USIP-1 functions upstream of SART3 to promote U6 snRNA recycling.

MicroRNA turnover: when, how, and why.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (∼22 nucleotide) RNAs that are important for the regulation of numerous biological processes. Accordingly, the expression of miRNAs is itself tightly controlled by mechanisms acting at the level of transcription as well as processing of miRNA precursors. Recently, active degradation of mature miRNAs has been identified as another mechanism that is important for miRNA homeostasis. Here we review the molecular factors and cellular conditions that promote miRNA turnover. We also discuss what is known about the physiological relevance of miRNA decay.

Engineering of a conditional allele reveals multiple roles of XRN2 in Caenorhabditis elegans development and substrate specificity in microRNA turnover.

Although XRN2 proteins are highly conserved eukaryotic 5'→3' exonucleases, little is known about their function in animals. Here, we characterize Caenorhabditis elegans XRN2, which we find to be a broadly and constitutively expressed nuclear protein. An xrn-2 null mutation or loss of XRN2 catalytic activity causes a molting defect and early larval arrest. However, by generating a conditionally mutant xrn-2ts strain de novo through an approach that may be also applicable to other genes of interest, we reveal further functions in fertility, during embryogenesis and during additional larval stages. Consistent with the known role of XRN2 in controlling microRNA (miRNA) levels, we can demonstrate that loss of XRN2 activity stabilizes some rapidly decaying miRNAs. Surprisingly, however, other miRNAs continue to decay rapidly in xrn-2ts animals. Thus, XRN2 has unanticipated miRNA specificity in vivo, and its diverse developmental functions may relate to distinct substrates. Finally, our global analysis of miRNA stability during larval stage 1 reveals that miRNA passenger strands (miR*s) are substantially less stable than guide strands (miRs), supporting the notion that the former are mostly byproducts of biogenesis rather than a less abundant functional species.

From the Cover: Charge interactions can dominate the dimensions of intrinsically disordered proteins.

Many eukaryotic proteins are disordered under physiological conditions, and fold into ordered structures only on binding to their cellular targets. Such intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) often contain a large fraction of charged amino acids. Here, we use single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer to investigate the influence of charged residues on the dimensions of unfolded and intrinsically disordered proteins. We find that, in contrast to the compact unfolded conformations that have been observed for many proteins at low denaturant concentration, IDPs can exhibit a prominent expansion at low ionic strength that correlates with their net charge. Charge-balanced polypeptides, however, can exhibit an additional collapse at low ionic strength, as predicted by polyampholyte theory from the attraction between opposite charges in the chain. The pronounced effect of charges on the dimensions of unfolded proteins has important implications for the cellular functions of IDPs.

Single-molecule spectroscopy of the temperature-induced collapse of unfolded proteins.

We used single-molecule FRET in combination with other biophysical methods and molecular simulations to investigate the effect of temperature on the dimensions of unfolded proteins. With single-molecule FRET, this question can be addressed even under near-native conditions, where most molecules are folded, allowing us to probe a wide range of denaturant concentrations and temperatures. We find a compaction of the unfolded state of a small cold shock protein with increasing temperature in both the presence and the absence of denaturant, with good agreement between the results from single-molecule FRET and dynamic light scattering. Although dissociation of denaturant from the polypeptide chain with increasing temperature accounts for part of the compaction, the results indicate an important role for additional temperature-dependent interactions within the unfolded chain. The observation of a collapse of a similar extent in the extremely hydrophilic, intrinsically disordered protein prothymosin alpha suggests that the hydrophobic effect is not the sole source of the underlying interactions. Circular dichroism spectroscopy and replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations in explicit water show changes in secondary structure content with increasing temperature and suggest a contribution of intramolecular hydrogen bonding to unfolded state collapse.