The region upstream of the telomerase reverse transcriptase gene is essential for in planta telomerase complementation

Crhák, Tomáš; Zachová, Dagmar; Fojtová, Miloslava; Sýkorová, Eva

doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.01.001

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Moreover, telomeres of T1 plants complemented with the F3R2 construct maintained their telomeres at a level similar or slightly longer than telomeres of parental G1 plants, while the corresponding G2 tr-1 plants continued telomere shortening (Figure 5C,D). In the next generation of complemented plants (T2), telomere lengths remained stable, without any evident trans-generational change (Figure 5C,D) that is similar to results from attert mutants complemented with an AtTERT gene construct under control of a native promoter (61). Correspondingly, telomerase activity (Figure 5E) was recovered in the AtTR -complemented plants.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 71%

Telomerase RNAs in land plants

Fajkus

Peška

Závodník

et al. 2019

Nucleic Acids Research

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To elucidate the molecular nature of evolutionary changes of telomeres in the plant order Asparagales, we aimed to characterize telomerase RNA subunits (TRs) in these plants. The unusually long telomere repeat unit in Allium plants (12 nt) allowed us to identify TRs in transcriptomic data of representative species of the Allium genus. Orthologous TRs were then identified in Asparagales plants harbouring telomere DNA composed of TTAGGG (human type) or TTTAGGG (Arabidopsis-type) repeats. Further, we identified TRs across the land plant phylogeny, including common model plants, crop plants, and plants with unusual telomeres. Several lines of functional testing demonstrate the templating telomerase function of the identified TRs and disprove a functionality of the only previously reported plant telomerase RNA in Arabidopsis thaliana. Importantly, our results change the existing paradigm in plant telomere biology which has been based on the existence of a relatively conserved telomerase reverse transcriptase subunit (TERT) associating with highly divergent TRs even between closely related plant taxa. The finding of a monophyletic origin of genuine TRs across land plants opens the possibility to identify TRs directly in transcriptomic or genomic data and/or predict telomere sequences synthesized according to the respective TR template region.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 71%

Telomerase RNAs in land plants

Fajkus

Peška

Závodník

et al. 2019

Nucleic Acids Research

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“…4d ). These findings agree with previous studies on the complementation of AtTERT function 55 – 57 . Notably, telomerase activity in both 5-2-1 and 10-3-3 transgenic lineages decreased from T3 to T4 (Fig.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 94%

Arabidopsis telomerase takes off by uncoupling enzyme activity from telomere length maintenance in space

Barcenilla,

Meyers,

Castillo-González

et al. 2023

Nat Commun

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Spaceflight-induced changes in astronaut telomeres have garnered significant attention in recent years. While plants represent an essential component of future long-duration space travel, the impacts of spaceflight on plant telomeres and telomerase have not been examined. Here we report on the telomere dynamics of Arabidopsis thaliana grown aboard the International Space Station. We observe no changes in telomere length in space-flown Arabidopsis seedlings, despite a dramatic increase in telomerase activity (up to 150-fold in roots), as well as elevated genome oxidation. Ground-based follow up studies provide further evidence that telomerase is induced by different environmental stressors, but its activity is uncoupled from telomere length. Supporting this conclusion, genetically engineered super-telomerase lines with enhanced telomerase activity maintain wildtype telomere length. Finally, genome oxidation is inversely correlated with telomerase activity levels. We propose a redox protective capacity for Arabidopsis telomerase that may promote survivability in harsh environments.

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“…Crhák et al showed the efficient and tissue-specific control of telomerase reconstitution. At the same time, the results have shown that the level of Arabidopsis TERT transcript is not the sole determinant for the successful restoration of the telomeric function of telomerase, which suggests posttranscriptional control of telomerase expression [117]. Moreover, the restoration of telomerase activity, as evaluated in complemented plant extracts in vitro, did not always correlate with the ability to restore telomere maintenance in planta.…”

Section: Telomerase Regulationmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…[115,116,121] 336 bp long promoter region of the translation start site with plausible regulatory intron 1. [13,117] RNA Polymerase RNA Pol II [115] RNA Pol II [122] Histone modifications of promoter…”

Section: Telomerase Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The core functional promoter essential for the transcriptional activation of human TERT in cancer cells was suggested to be in the 181-bp [ 115 ] or 208-bp fragment [ 116 ], respectively, upstream of the transcription start site. In plants, the 336 bp long promoter region of the TERT promoter seems to be essential for the successful complementation of telomerase and reversion of the short telomere phenotype in tert −/− A. thaliana plants ( Table 1 a) [ 13 , 117 ]. Crhák et al showed the efficient and tissue-specific control of telomerase reconstitution.…”

Section: Telomerase Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Composition and Function of Telomerase—A Polymerase Associated with the Origin of Eukaryotes

Schrumpfová

Fajkus

2020

Biomolecules

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The canonical DNA polymerases involved in the replication of the genome are unable to fully replicate the physical ends of linear chromosomes, called telomeres. Chromosomal termini thus become shortened in each cell cycle. The maintenance of telomeres requires telomerase—a specific RNA-dependent DNA polymerase enzyme complex that carries its own RNA template and adds telomeric repeats to the ends of chromosomes using a reverse transcription mechanism. Both core subunits of telomerase—its catalytic telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) subunit and telomerase RNA (TR) component—were identified in quick succession in Tetrahymena more than 30 years ago. Since then, both telomerase subunits have been described in various organisms including yeasts, mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. Despite the fact that telomerase activity in plants was described 25 years ago and the TERT subunit four years later, a genuine plant TR has only recently been identified by our group. In this review, we focus on the structure, composition and function of telomerases. In addition, we discuss the origin and phylogenetic divergence of this unique RNA-dependent DNA polymerase as a witness of early eukaryotic evolution. Specifically, we discuss the latest information regarding the recently discovered TR component in plants, its conservation and its structural features.

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The region upstream of the telomerase reverse transcriptase gene is essential for in planta telomerase complementation

Cited by 3 publications

References 60 publications

Telomerase RNAs in land plants

Telomerase RNAs in land plants

Arabidopsis telomerase takes off by uncoupling enzyme activity from telomere length maintenance in space

Composition and Function of Telomerase—A Polymerase Associated with the Origin of Eukaryotes

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