Biology subjects

Lai, E. C.

Publications and source records attributed to Lai, E. C..

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

AAV and lentiviral transduction in Duchenne muscular dystrophy cardiomyocytes activate cell stress responses

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked muscle wasting disorder marked by lack of dystrophin expression. Symptoms include loss of ambulation, respiratory problems, and cardiac complications with heart failure being the leading cause of death. Dystrophin transduces force from the actin cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix to protect cells during muscle contraction. Restoration of dystrophin expression by gene transfer holds promise in addressing the root cause of disease. We compared the changes to transcriptional profiles after gene transfer by adeno-associated virus or lentivirus to examine whether viral treatment alone impacts cell homeostasis. We delivered GFP to cardiomyocytes differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with DMD mutations. Global transcriptional profiling revealed a downregulation of metabolic genes after lentiviral transduction compared to untreated controls. In both AAV and lentivirus-treated DMD iPSC-cardiomyocytes, we observed an activation of the p53 DNA damage response in addition to a downregulation of cell cycle genes, suggesting stress-induced G2/M checkpoint arrest following viral delivery. These findings demonstrate that gene therapy mediated by viral vectors activates cell stress pathways. Interventions to mitigate these stress responses may be necessary for safe and effective gene transfer in diseased cells.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2026

Divergent regulatory impacts of endogenous siRNAs on host mRNAs in testis of closely related species

Invertebrates use RNAi to fight viruses that replicate via dsRNA intermediates, which serve as precursors for producing anti-viral siRNAs. In addition, siRNAs are produced from a broad range of endogenous dsRNAs in Drosophila melanogaster. However, beyond the impacts of siRNAs derived from a handful of hairpin RNAs, the regulatory potential of most endo-siRNAs has been unknown. Here, we report that RNAi is far more potent in the close sister species Drosophila simulans. Consequently, endo-siRNAs repress less than a dozen transcripts in D. melanogaster, but hundreds of mRNAs in D. simulans testis. These regulatory interactions occur in cis (between pairs of bidirectionally transcribed loci), as well as in trans (between genomically unlinked siRNA-target pairs). We establish the molecular determinants of productive gene repression by siRNAs in vivo, including cleavage in trans via >16-nt contiguous complementarity. Our data indicate that D. simulans spermatogenesis requires repression of numerous host mRNAs by endo-siRNAs. More generally, we reveal unexpectedly fast-evolving and broad regulatory impacts of endogenous RNAi in the male germline.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2026

Alternative 3' Polyadenylation Responses to Acute Ethanol Exposure Differ Between Drosophila Populations

Alternative polyadenylation is a pervasive post-transcriptional mechanism that generates mRNA isoforms with distinct 3 untranslated regions (3 UTRs), which can influence transcript stability, localization and translation. Ethanol is an environmental stressor for Drosophila melanogaster, and natural populations show distinct responses to ethanol exposure, suggesting that the genetic background can modulate phenotypic response. Yet, how the natural genetic variation modulates ethanol-responsive APA remains understudied. We profiled 3 end isoforms following acute ethanol exposure in three French (cosmopolitan) and three Zambian (ancestral range) D. melanogaster genotypes and identified numerous significant APA events across all genotypes. Ethanol-induced APA was widespread but highly genotype - and population - dependent: the French genotypes showed an enrichment of proximal shifts (3 UTR shortening), while Zambian genotypes were biased toward distal shifts (3 UTR lengthening). Most of the ethanol-responsive APA events were private to a single population, with relatively few genes exhibiting conserved directional changes across both backgrounds. We also classify genes showing opposite-direction shifts between populations, and others with opposite-direction shifts between various classes of APA. For two-site events, inter-poly(A) site distance did not predict response direction; however, spacing strongly predicted the magnitude of remodeling, with larger separations enabling greater absolute 3 UTR length changes. Our findings support a model in which ethanol-responsive 3 end regulation is a flexible genetically contingent, and that population-specific APA remodeling represent a plausible molecular substrate contributing to adaptation.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2025

Recurrent expansion and rapid evolution of the Drosophilid RNAi pathway in testis

Multiple classes of selfish genetic elements, including transposable elements, meiotic drivers, and viruses, are suppressed by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that guide RNA interference (RNAi). These are interlocked within continually evolving genetic conflicts that are characterized by extremely rapid dynamics of change in both sequence and copy number. Indeed, it was shown that across Drosophila, the core RNAi machinery evolves under positive selection, and that the RNAi effector AGO2 has additional copies in some species. This contrasts with the core microRNA (miRNA) machinery in Drosophila, which evolves under negative selection and maintains one-to-one orthologs not only amongst flies, but even to mammals. Here, we analyze >300 long read genome assemblies of Drosophila species to generalize these attributes. Not only do we find recurrent expansion of AGO2 across [~]100 species, including lineages with ongoing amplification of AGO2, we also find dozens of species with extra copies of the other core RNAi factors, r2d2 and dicer-2. In many cases, these additional RNAi factor copies co-exist, or are nested, within a lineage bearing an ancestral expansion of AGO2. Transcriptome data provide evidence that core RNAi factors, including certain lineage-specific copies, are biased for testis expression. Finally, we use small RNA data to annotate hairpin RNAs (hpRNAs) in D. pseudoobscura, one of the species with prominent amplification of RNAi factors. We find rampant de novo hpRNA loci in this species, whose siRNAs are predominantly expressed in testis. All together, these findings highlight evolutionary plasticity of the fly RNAi pathway and affirm that it is preferentially deployed in the germline of the heterogametic sex. When considered alongside abundant genetic data for recurrent sex ratio meiotic drive against the Y chromosome, these genomic data strongly imply that a fundamental role of endogenous RNAi is to control sex chromosome conflicts.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Structure-informed evolutionary analysis of the meiotic recombination machinery

Despite being essential for fertility, many proteins involved in meiotic homologous recombination have diverged rapidly. The evolutionary forces driving this divergence remain mostly unknown, in part because of challenges in accounting for the interplay of sequence changes with constraints imposed by proteins structures and physiological roles. Here, we explore strategies to more sensitively detect signatures of positive or relaxed selection by integrating evolutionary analyses with structural and functional information, using meiotic recombination proteins in four taxa--primates, rodents, birds and budding yeasts. By mapping selection rate estimates onto predicted protein structures, we characterized protein regions likely to have experienced positive selection. We further identified subtle sequence variation within protein domains that are well conserved generally because of structural constraints. To detect sequence variation masked by these constraints, we analyzed selection at structurally matched residues, comparing homologs across different lineages as well as between meiosis-specific and generalist paralogs. These approaches identified lineage- and paralog-restricted enrichment of non-synonymous substitutions that may indicate loss of functional constraints and/or adaptive innovation. Finally, we used cross-species complementation experiments in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to show that sequence variation in the pro-crossover factor MSH4 modulates recombination proficiency. We suggest that evolutionary plasticity per se is a key conserved characteristic of the meiotic recombination machinery. More generally, our approach provides a mechanistic framework to analyze protein evolution.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Human Dicer1 hotspot mutation induces both loss and gain of miRNA function

The core miRNA biogenesis enzyme Dicer1 sustains recurrent mutations in cancer that compromise its RNase IIIb domain, which cleaves 5p arms of pre-miRNA hairpins. However, the lack of knockin models has limited fuller understanding. Here, we generated Dicer1-KO and Dicer1-S1344L (homozygous and hemizygous) human ESCs; the latter is a non-catalytic mutation in RNase IIIa that impairs RNase IIIb activity. Dicer1 knockouts lack canonical miRNAs, while S1344L induces two trends: ablation of miRNA-5p strands, and selective changes in miRNA-3p strands. Curiously, we recognized directional upregulation of miRNA-3p passenger strands, indicating a broad strand switch. We used multiple in vitro assays to show 3p arm-nicked pre-miRNAs preferentially load miRNA-3p species into Argonaute, compared to corresponding duplexes. Moreover, activity assays, RNA-seq data, and Argonaute-mRNA profiling, confirm that these confer increased repression capacity. These data expand the molecular consequences of Dicer1 hotspot mutations in cancer.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2024

Genetic regulation of microRNAs in the older adult brain and their contribution to neuropsychiatric conditions

MicroRNAs are essential post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression and involved in many biological processes; however, our understanding of their genetic regulation and role in brain illnesses is limited. Here, we mapped brain microRNA expression quantitative trait loci (miR-QTLs) using genome-wide small RNA sequencing profiles from dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) samples of 604 older adult donors of European ancestry. miR-QTLs were identified for 224 miRNAs (48% of 470 tested miRNAs) at false discovery rate < 1%. We found that miR-QTLs were enriched in brain promoters and enhancers, and that intragenic miRNAs often did not share QTLs with their host gene. Additionally, we integrated the brain miR- QTLs with results from 16 GWAS of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases using multiple independent integration approaches and identified four miRNAs that contribute to the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder, major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and Parkinsons disease. This study provides novel insights into the contribution of miRNAs to the complex biological networks that link genetic variation to disease.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2024

The structural landscape of Microprocessor Mediated pri-let-7 miRNAs processing

miRNA biogenesis is initiated upon cleavage of a primary miRNA (pri-miRNA) hairpin by the Microprocessor (MP), composed of the Drosha RNase III enzyme and its partner DGCR8. Multiple pri-miRNA sequence motifs affect MP recognition, fidelity, and efficiency. Here, we performed cryo-EM and biochemical studies of several let-7 family pri-miRNAs in complex with human MP. We show that MP has the structural plasticity to accommodate a range of pri-miRNAs. These structures revealed key features of the 5 UG sequence motif, more comprehensively represented as the "fUN" motif. Our analysis explains how cleavage of class-II pri-let-7 members harboring a bulged nucleotide generates a noncanonical precursor with a 1-nt 3 overhang. Finally, the MP-SRSF3-pri-let-7f1 structure reveals how SRSF3 contributes to MP fidelity by interacting with the CNNC-motif and Droshas PAZ-like domain. Overall, this study sheds light on the mechanisms for flexible recognition, accurate cleavage, and regulated processing of different pri-miRNAs by MP.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2023

The Rapidly Evolving X-linked miR-506 Family Finetunes Spermatogenesis to Enhance Sperm Competition

Despite rapid evolution across eutherian mammals, the X-linked miR-506 family miRNAs are located in a region flanked by two highly conserved protein-coding genes (Slitrk2 and Fmr1) on the X chromosome. Intriguingly, these miRNAs are predominantly expressed in the testis, suggesting a potential role in spermatogenesis and male fertility. Here, we report that the X-linked miR-506 family miRNAs were derived from the MER91C DNA transposons. Selective inactivation of individual miRNAs or clusters caused no discernable defects, but simultaneous ablation of five clusters containing nineteen members of the miR-506 family led to reduced male fertility in mice. Despite normal sperm counts, motility and morphology, the KO sperm were less competitive than wild-type sperm when subjected to a polyandrous mating scheme. Transcriptomic and bioinformatic analyses revealed that these X-linked miR-506 family miRNAs, in addition to targeting a set of conserved genes, have more targets that are critical for spermatogenesis and embryonic development during evolution. Our data suggest that the miR-506 family miRNAs function to enhance sperm competitiveness and reproductive fitness of the male by finetuning gene expression during spermatogenesis. Significance StatementThe X-linked miR-506 family has rapidly evolved in mammals, but their physiological significance remains elusive. Given their abundant and preferential expression in the testis and sperm, these X-linked miRNAs likely play a functional role in spermatogenesis and/or early embryonic development. However, the deletion of either individual miRNA genes or all of the five miRNA clusters encoding 38 mature miRNAs did not cause major fertility defects in mice. When these mutant males were subjected to conditions resembling polyandrous mating, the mutant sperm were much less competitive than the wild-type sperm, rendering the mutant males "functionally sub-fertile". Our data suggest that the miR-506 family of miRNAs regulates sperm competition and the reproductive fitness of the male.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Aging Fly Cell Atlas Identifies Exhaustive Aging Features at Cellular Resolution

Aging is characterized by a decline in tissue function, but the underlying changes at cellular resolution across the organism remain unclear. Here, we present the Aging Fly Cell Atlas, a single-nucleus transcriptomic map of the whole aging Drosophila. We characterize 163 distinct cell types and perform an in-depth analysis of changes in tissue cell composition, gene expression, and cell identities. We further develop aging clock models to predict the fly age and show that ribosomal gene expression is a conserved predictive factor for age. Combining all aging features, we find unique cell type-specific aging patterns. This atlas provides a valuable resource for studying fundamental principles of aging in complex organisms.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Large-scale benchmarking of circRNA detection tools reveals large differences in sensitivity but not in precision

The detection of circular RNA molecules (circRNAs) is typically based on short-read RNA sequencing data processed by computational detection tools. During the last decade, a plethora of such tools have been developed, but a systematic comparison with orthogonal validation is missing. Here, we set up a circRNA detection tool benchmarking study, in which 16 tools were used and detected over 315,000 unique circRNAs in three deeply sequenced human cell types. Next, 1,516 predicted circRNAs were empirically validated using three orthogonal methods. Generally, tool-specific precision values are high and similar (median of 98.8%, 96.3%, and 95.5% for qPCR, RNase R, and amplicon sequencing, respectively) whereas the sensitivity and number of predicted circRNAs (ranging from 1,372 to 58,032) are the most significant tool differentiators. Furthermore, we demonstrate the complementarity of tools through the increase in detection sensitivity by considering the union of highly-precise tool combinations while keeping the number of false discoveries low. Finally, based on the benchmarking results, recommendations are put forward for circRNA detection and validation.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2022

Rapid evolutionary diversification of the flamenco locus in the D. simulans clade

Effective suppression of transposable elements (TEs) is paramount to maintain genomic integrity and organismal fitness. In D. melanogaster, flamenco is a master suppressor of TEs, preventing their movement from somatic ovarian support cells to the germline. It is transcribed by Pol II as a long (100s of kb), single-stranded, primary transcript, that is metabolized into Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) that target active TEs via antisense complementarity. flamenco is thought to operate as a trap, owing to its high content of recent horizontally transferred TEs that are enriched in antisense orientation. Using newly-generated long read genome data, which is critical for accurate assembly of repetitive sequences, we find that flamenco has undergone radical transformations in sequence content and even copy number across simulans clade Drosophilid species. D. simulans flamenco has duplicated and diverged, and neither copy exhibits synteny with D. melanogaster beyond the core promoter. Moreover, flamenco organization is highly variable across D. simulans individuals. Next, we find that D. simulans and D. mauritiana flamenco display signatures of a dual-stranded cluster, with ping-pong signals in the testis and/or embryo. This is accompanied by increased copy numbers of germline TEs, consistent with these regions operating as functional dual stranded clusters. Overall, the physical and functional diversity of flamenco orthologs is testament to the extremely dynamic consequences of TE arms races on genome organization, not only amongst highly related species, but even amongst individuals.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Endogenous RNAi silences a burgeoning sex chromosome arms race

Although the biological utilities of endogenous RNAi (endo-RNAi) have been largely elusive, recent studies reveal its critical role in the non-model fruitfly Drosophila simulans to suppress selfish genes, whose unchecked activities can severely impair spermatogenesis. In particular, hairpin RNA (hpRNA) loci generate endo-siRNAs that suppress evolutionary novel, X-linked, meiotic drive loci. The consequences of deleting even a single hpRNA (Nmy) in males are profound, as such individuals are nearly incapable of siring male progeny. Here, comparative genomic analyses of D. simulans and D. melanogaster mutants of the core RNAi factor dcr-2 reveal a substantially expanded network of recently-emerged hpRNA-target interactions in the former species. The de novo hpRNA regulatory network in D. simulans bears compelling signatures of sex chromosome conflict and provides insight into molecular strategies that underlie hpRNA emergence. In particular, our data support the existence of ongoing rapid evolution of Nmy/Dox-related networks, recurrent targeting of testis HMG Box loci by hpRNAs, and connections to the piRNA pathway. Importantly, the impact of the endo-RNAi network on gene expression flips the convention for regulatory networks, since we observe strong derepression of targets of the youngest hpRNAs, but only mild effects on the targets of the oldest hpRNAs. These data suggest that endo-RNAi are especially critical during incipient stages of intrinsic sex chromosome conflicts, and that continual cycles of distortion and resolution may contribute to the segregation of species.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Red queen's race: rapid evolutionary dynamics of an expanding family of meiotic drive factors and their hpRNA suppressors

Meiotic drivers are a class of selfish genetic elements that are widespread across eukaryotes. As their activities are often detrimental to organismal fitness, opposing regulatory mechanisms are usually required to silence them, to ensure fair segregation during meiosis. Accordingly, the existence of such selfish elements is frequently hidden in genomes, and their molecular functions are little known. Here, we trace evolutionary steps that generated the Dox meiotic drive system in Drosophila simulans (Dsim), which distorts male:female balance (sex-ratio) by depleting male progeny. We show that Dox emerged via stepwise mobilization and acquisition of portions of multiple D. melanogaster genes, notably including from protamine, which replaces histones in haploid sperm and mediates the highly condensed state of sperm chromatin. Moreover, we reveal novel Dox homologs in Dsim and massive, recent, amplification of Dox superfamily genes specifically on X chromosomes of its closest sister species D. mauritiana (Dmau) and D. sechellia (Dsech). The emergence of Dox superfamily genes is tightly associated with 359-bp repeats (in the 1.688 family of satellite repeats) that flank de novo genomic copies. In concert, we find coordinated emergence and diversification of autosomal hairpin RNA-class siRNA loci that target subsets of Dox superfamily genes across simulans clade species. Finally, an independent set of protamine amplifications on the Y chromosome of D. melanogaster indicates that protamine genes are frequent and recurrent players in sex chromosome dynamics. Overall, we reveal fierce genetic arms races between meiotic drive factors and siRNA suppressors associated with recent speciation.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2021

miR-486 is an epigenetic modulator of Duchenne muscular dystrophy pathologies

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked progressive muscle disorder resulting in muscle weakness and cardiomyopathy. MicroRNAs have been shown to play essential roles in muscle development, metabolism, and disease pathologies. We demonstrated that miR-486 expression is reduced in DMD muscles and its expression levels correlate with dystrophic disease severity. MicroRNA-486 knockout mice developed disrupted myofiber architecture, decreased myofiber size, decreased locomotor activity, increased cardiac fibrosis, and metabolic defects that were exacerbated on the dystrophic mdx5cv background. We integrated RNA-sequencing and chimeric eCLIP-sequencing data to identify direct in vivo targets of miR-486 and associated dysregulated gene signatures in skeletal muscle. In comparison to our DMD mouse muscle transcriptomes, we identified several of these miR-486 muscle targets including known modulators of dystrophinopathy disease symptoms. Together, our studies identify miR-486 as a driver of muscle remodeling in DMD, a useful biomarker for dystrophic disease progression, and highlight chimeric eCLIP-sequencing as a useful tool to identify direct in vivo microRNA target transcripts. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=122 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/448387v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (61K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@13eeaf5org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b3b2dborg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@a36782org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1e0b95f_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

genetics↗

bioRxiv2020

A double negative post-transcriptional regulatory circuit mediates the virgin behavioral state

The survival and reproductive success of animals depends on the ability to harmonize their external behaviors with their internal states. For example, females conduct numerous social programs that are distinctive to virgins, compared to post-mated and/or pregnant individuals. In Drosophila, the fact that this post-mating switch is initiated by seminal factors implies that the default state is virgin. However, we recently showed that loss of miR-iab-4/8-mediated repression of the transcription factor Homothorax (Hth) within the abdominal ventral nerve cord (VNC) causes virgin females to execute mated behaviors. To elucidate new components of this post-transcriptional regulatory circuit, we used genomic analysis of mir-iab-4/8 deletion and hth-miRNA binding site mutants (hth[BSmut]) to elucidate doublesex (dsx) as a critical downstream factor. While Dsx has mostly been studied during sex-specific differentiation, its activities in neurons are little known. We find that accumulation of Dsx in the CNS is highly complementary to Hth, and downregulated in miRNA/hth[BSmut] mutants. Moreover, virgin behavior is highly dose-sensitive to developmental dsx function. Strikingly, depletion of Dsx in SAG-1 cells, a highly restricted set of abdominal neurons, abrogates female virgin conducts in favor of mated behavioral programs. Thus, a double negative post-transcriptional pathway in the VNC (miR-iab-4/8 -| Hth -| Dsx) specifies the virgin behavioral state.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Overlapping activities of ELAV/Hu RNA binding proteins specify multiple neural alternative splicing programs

ELAV/Hu factors are conserved RNA binding proteins that play diverse roles in mRNA processing and regulation. The founding member, Drosophila Elav, was recognized as a vital neural factor 35 years ago. Nevertheless, still little is known about its impacts on the transcriptome, and potential functional overlap with its paralogs. Building on our recent findings that neural-specific lengthened 3 UTR isoforms are co-determined by ELAV/Hu factors, we address their impacts on splicing. In ectopic contexts, all three members (Elav, Fne and Rbp9) induce similar and broad changes to cassette exon and alternative last exon (ALE) splicing. Reciprocally, double mutants of elav/fne, but not elav alone, have opposite effects on both types of mRNA processing events in the larval CNS. Accordingly, while fne mutants are normal, fne loss strongly enhances elav mutants with respect to neuronal differentiation. While manipulation of Drosophila ELAV/Hu factors induces both exon skipping and inclusion, motif analysis indicates their major direct effects are to suppress cassette exon usage. Moreover, we find direct analogies in their roles in global promotion of distal ALE splicing and terminal 3 UTR extension, since both involve local suppression of proximal polyadenylation signals via ELAV/Hu binding sites downstream of cleavage sites. Finally, we provide evidence for analogous co-implementation of distal ALE and APA lengthening programs in mammalian neurons, linked to ELAV/Hu motifs downstream of regulated polyadenylation sites. Overall, ELAV/Hu proteins orchestrate multiple conserved programs of neuronal mRNA processing by suppressing alternative exons and polyadenylation sites.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2020

miRNAs and neural alternative polyadenylation specify the virgin behavioral state

How are diverse regulatory strategies integrated to impose appropriately patterned gene expression that underlie in vivo phenotypes? Here, we reveal how coordinated miRNA regulation and neural-specific alternative polyadenylation (APA) of a single locus controls complex behaviors. Our entry was the unexpected observation that deletion of Bithorax-Complex (BX-C) miRNAs converts virgin female flies into a subjective post-mated behavioral state, normally induced by seminal proteins following copulation. Strikingly, this behavioral switch is directly attributable to misregulation of homothorax (hth). We localize specific CNS abdominal neurons where de-repressed Hth compromises virgin behavior in BX-C miRNA mutants. Moreover, we use genome engineering to demonstrate that precise mutation of hth 3UTR sites for BX-C miRNAs, or deletion of its neural 3 UTR extension containing most of these sites, both induce post-mated behaviors in virgins. Thus, facilitation of miRNA-mediated repression by neural APA is required for virgin females to execute behaviors appropriate to their internal state.

neuroscience↗