Abstract
In Drosophila melanogaster, PD isoform of the double-stranded RNA binding protein (dsRBP) Loquacious (Loqs-PD) facilitates dsRNA cleavage to siRNA by Dicer-2. StaufenC (StauC) was discovered as a coleopteran-specific dsRBP required for dsRNA processing in coleopteran insects. Here, we show that StauC is essential for the high RNAi efficiency observed in coleopterans. Knockdown of StauC but not the homologs of Loqs-PD and R2D2 evoked a long-lasting insensitivity to RNAi in the coleopteran cell line, Ledp-SL1. The dsRNA insensitivity induced by StauC knockdown could not be overcome merely by an increase in dose or time of exposure to dsRNA or expression of Loquacious or R2D2. Furthermore, StauC but not Loqs and R2D2 are required for processing of dsRNA into siRNA. StauC overexpression also partly restored the impaired RNAi caused by the knockdown of Loqs-PD in D. melanogaster Kc cells. However, StauC was unable to compensate for the loss-of-the function of Dcr-2 or R2D2. Overall, these data suggest that StauC functions like Lops-PD in processing dsRNA to siRNA.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 467-477 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | RNA Biology |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | S1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The research is supported by grants from NIH (GM070559‐15 and 1R21AI131427‐01), the NSF (Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers, the Center for Arthropod Management Technologies under Grant IIP‐1821936), Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant No. 2019‐67013‐29351 and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture (under HATCH Project 2353057000).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords
- Dicer-2
- Loqs-PD
- RNAi
- StaufenC
- dsRNA
- siRNA
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology