Gating of miRNA movement at defined cell-cell interfaces governs their impact as positional signals

Skopelitis, D. S., Hill, K., Klesen, S., Marco, C. F., von Born, P., Chitwood, D. H., Timmermans, M. C. P. (August 2018) Gating of miRNA movement at defined cell-cell interfaces governs their impact as positional signals. Nat Commun, 9 (1). p. 3107. ISSN 2041-1723

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Abstract

Mobile small RNAs serve as local positional signals in development and coordinate stress responses across the plant. Despite its central importance, an understanding of how the cell-to-cell movement of small RNAs is governed is lacking. Here, we show that miRNA mobility is precisely regulated through a gating mechanism polarised at defined cell-cell interfaces. This generates directional movement between neighbouring cells that limits long-distance shoot-to-root trafficking, and underpins domain-autonomous behaviours of small RNAs within stem cell niches. We further show that the gating of miRNA mobility occurs independent of mechanisms controlling protein movement, identifying the small RNA as the mobile unit. These findings reveal gate-keepers of cell-to-cell small RNA mobility generate selectivity in long-distance signalling, and help safeguard functional domains within dynamic stem cell niches while mitigating a 'signalling gridlock' in contexts where developmental patterning events occur in close spatial and temporal vicinity.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > miRNA
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > miRNA
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Timmermans lab
School of Biological Sciences > Publications
Depositing User: Matthew Dunn
Date: 6 August 2018
Date Deposited: 15 Aug 2018 15:18
Last Modified: 10 Sep 2019 16:17
PMCID: PMC6079027
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/37116

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