Kowalski Madzia P, Baylis Howard A, Krude Torsten
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
J Cell Sci. 2015 Jun 1;128(11):2118-29. doi: 10.1242/jcs.166744. Epub 2015 Apr 23.
Stem bulge RNAs (sbRNAs) are a family of small non-coding stem-loop RNAs present in Caenorhabditis elegans and other nematodes, the function of which is unknown. Here, we report the first functional characterisation of nematode sbRNAs. We demonstrate that sbRNAs from a range of nematode species are able to reconstitute the initiation of chromosomal DNA replication in the presence of replication proteins in vitro, and that conserved nucleotide sequence motifs are essential for this function. By functionally inactivating sbRNAs with antisense morpholino oligonucleotides, we show that sbRNAs are required for S phase progression, early embryonic development and the viability of C. elegans in vivo. Thus, we demonstrate a new and essential role for sbRNAs during the early development of C. elegans. sbRNAs show limited nucleotide sequence similarity to vertebrate Y RNAs, which are also essential for the initiation of DNA replication. Our results therefore establish that the essential function of small non-coding stem-loop RNAs during DNA replication extends beyond vertebrates.
茎部膨出RNA（sbRNAs）是一类存在于秀丽隐杆线虫和其他线虫中的小非编码茎环RNA，其功能尚不清楚。在此，我们报道了线虫sbRNAs的首次功能特性描述。我们证明，来自一系列线虫物种的sbRNAs能够在体外存在复制蛋白的情况下重建染色体DNA复制的起始过程，并且保守的核苷酸序列基序对于该功能至关重要。通过用反义吗啉代寡核苷酸使sbRNAs功能失活，我们表明sbRNAs对于体内秀丽隐杆线虫的S期进程、早期胚胎发育和生存能力是必需的。因此，我们证明了sbRNAs在秀丽隐杆线虫早期发育过程中具有新的重要作用。sbRNAs与脊椎动物Y RNA的核苷酸序列相似性有限，而Y RNA对于DNA复制的起始也至关重要。因此，我们的结果表明，小非编码茎环RNA在DNA复制过程中的基本功能不仅限于脊椎动物。
