The spliceosome-associated protein CWC15 promotes miRNA biogenesis in Arabidopsis.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38493158.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-46676-z and PMC identifier 10944506.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in regulating gene expression and their biogenesis is precisely controlled through modulating the activity of microprocessor. Here, we report that CWC15, a spliceosome-associated protein, acts as a positive regulator of miRNA biogenesis. CWC15 binds the promoters of genes encoding miRNAs (MIRs), promotes their activity, and increases the occupancy of DNA-dependent RNA polymerases at MIR promoters, suggesting that CWC15 positively regulates the transcription of primary miRNA transcripts (pri-miRNAs). In addition, CWC15 interacts with Serrate (SE) and HYL1, two key components of microprocessor, and is required for efficient pri-miRNA processing and the HYL1-pri-miRNA interaction. Moreover, CWC15 interacts with the 20 S proteasome and PRP4KA, facilitating SE phosphorylation by PRP4KA, and subsequent non-functional SE degradation by the 20 S proteasome. These data reveal that CWC15 ensures optimal miRNA biogenesis by maintaining proper SE levels and by modulating pri-miRNA levels. Taken together, this study uncovers the role of a conserved splicing-related protein in miRNA biogenesis.
Medical subject headings
- Arabidopsis
- Arabidopsis Proteins
- MicroRNAs