No abstract

The vertebrate-conserved RNA-binding protein (RBP) DND1 is required for survival of primordial germ cells (PGCs), as well as germ cell tumour (TGCT) suppression in mice1–5. Here we report that DND1 binds a UU[A/U] trinucleotide motif predominantly in messenger RNA (mRNA) 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs), and destabilizes target mRNAs through direct recruitment of the CCR4-NOT deadenylase (CCR4) complex. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the extent of suppression is dependent on the number of DND1 binding sites. The DND1-dependent mRNA destabilization is required for survival of murine PGCs and spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) by suppressing apoptosis. The target RNA spectrum includes positive regulators of apoptosis, inflammation, and modulators of signalling pathways regulating stem cell pluripotency including the TGF-β super family, all of which are aberrantly elevated in Dnd1-deficient PGCs. We propose that the induction of the posttranscriptional suppressor DND1 synergizes with concurrent transcriptional changes to sharpen developmental transitions during cellular differentiation and maintenance of the germline.

During microRNA (miRNA)-guided gene silencing, Argonaute (Ago) proteins interact with a member of the TNRC6/GW protein family. Here we used a short GW protein-derived peptide fused to GST and demonstrate that it binds to Ago proteins with high affinity. This allows for the simultaneous isolation of all Ago protein complexes expressed in diverse species to identify associated proteins, small RNAs, or target mRNAs. We refer to our method as “Ago protein Affinity Purification by Peptides“ (Ago-APP). Furthermore, expression of this peptide competes for endogenous TNRC6 proteins, leading to global inhibition of miRNA function in mammalian cells.

During post-transcriptional gene regulation (PTGR), RNA binding proteins (RBPs) interact with all classes of RNA to control RNA maturation, stability, transport, and translation. Here, we describe Photoactivatable-Ribonucleoside-Enhanced Cross linking and Immunoprecipitation (PAR-CLIP), a transcriptome-scale method for identifying RBP binding sites on target RNAs with nucleotide-level resolution. This method is readily applicable to any protein directly contacting RNA, including RBPs that are predicted to bind in a sequence- or structure-dependent manner at discrete RNA recognition elements (RREs), and those that are thought to bind transiently, such as RNA polymerases or helicases.