Search results for " RNA"

BNT162b2 Vaccine Encoding the SARS-CoV-2 P2 S Protects Transgenic hACE2 Mice against COVID-19.

2021

BNT162b2 is a highly efficacious mRNA vaccine approved to prevent COVID-19. This brief report describes the immunogenicity and anti-viral protective effect of BNT162b2 in hACE2 transgenic mice. Prime-boost immunization with BNT162b2 elicited high titers in neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, which correlated with viral clearance and alleviated lung lesions in these mice after viral challenge.

2016

RNA 2'-O-methylation is one of the ubiquitous nucleotide modifications found in many RNA types from Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. RNAs bearing 2'-O-methylations show increased resistance to degradation and enhanced stability in helices. While the exact role of each 2'-O-Me residue remained elusive, the catalytic protein Fibrillarin (Nop1 in yeast) responsible for 2'-O-methylation in eukaryotes, is associated with human pathologies. Therefore, there is an urgent need to precisely map and quantify hundreds of 2'-O-Me residues in RNA using high-throughput technologies. Here, we develop a reliable protocol using alkaline fragmentation of total RNA coupled to a commonly used ligation approach, …

m6A modulates neuronal functions and sex determination in Drosophila

2016

N6-methyladenosine RNA (m6A) is a prevalent messenger RNA modification in vertebrates. Although its functions in the regulation of post-transcriptional gene expression are beginning to be unveiled, the precise roles of m6A during development of complex organisms remain unclear. Here we carry out a comprehensive molecular and physiological characterization of the individual components of the methyltransferase complex, as well as of the YTH domain-containing nuclear reader protein in Drosophila melanogaster. We identify the member of the split ends protein family, Spenito, as a novel bona fide subunit of the methyltransferase complex. We further demonstrate important roles of this complex in …

Nearly Complete Genome Sequences of Human Norovirus Belonging to Several Genotypes from Valencia, Spain

2019

Human noroviruses are responsible for most nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis cases. The GII.2, GII.4, and GII.17 genotypes of human noroviruses have recently arisen as the most frequent genotypes found in humans worldwide. We report here seven nearly complete genomes of these genotypes from patients with acute gastroenteritis in Valencia, Spain.

Temperature-responsive miRNAs in Drosophila orchestrate adaptation to different ambient temperatures

2017

The majority of Drosophila genes are expressed in a temperature-dependent manner, but the way in which small RNAs may contribute to this effect is completely unknown as we currently lack an idea of how small RNA transcriptomes change as a function of temperature. Applying high-throughput sequencing techniques complemented by quantitative real-time PCR experiments, we demonstrate that altered ambient temperature induces drastic but reversible changes in sequence composition and total abundance of both miRNA and piRNA populations. Further, mRNA sequencing reveals that the expression of miRNAs and their predicted target transcripts correlates inversely, suggesting that temperature-responsive m…

From “Cellular” RNA to “Smart” RNA: Multiple Roles of RNA in Genome Stability and Beyond

2018

Coding for proteins has been considered the main function of RNA since the "central dogma" of biology was proposed. The discovery of noncoding transcripts shed light on additional roles of RNA, ranging from the support of polypeptide synthesis, to the assembly of subnuclear structures, to gene expression modulation. Cellular RNA has therefore been recognized as a central player in often unanticipated biological processes, including genomic stability. This ever-expanding list of functions inspired us to think of RNA as a "smart" phone, which has replaced the older obsolete "cellular" phone. In this review, we summarize the last two decades of advances in research on the interface between RNA…

Halorhabdus rudnickae sp. nov., a halophilic archaeon isolated from a salt mine borehole in Poland

2016

Two halophilic archaea, designated strains WSM-64 and WSM-66, were isolated from a sample taken from a borehole in the currently unexploited Barycz mining area belonging to the >Wieliczka> Salt Mine Company, in Poland. Strains are red pigmented and form non-motile cocci that stain Gram-negative. Strains WSM-64 and WSM-66 showed optimum growth at 40 °C, in 20% NaCl and at pH 6.5-7.5. The strains were facultative anaerobes. The major polar lipids of the two strains were phosphatidylglycerol (PG2), phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester (PGP-Me) and sulfated diglycosyl diether (S-DGD). Menaquinone MK-8 was the major respiratory quinone. The DNA G+C content of strain WSM-64 was 61.2 mol% b…

RNAseq-based transcriptome comparison of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from diverse fermentative environments.

2016

Transcriptome analyses play a central role in unraveling the complexity of gene expression regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This species, one of the most important microorganisms for humans given its industrial applications, shows an astonishing degree of genetic and phenotypic variability among different strains adapted to specific environments. In order to gain novel insights into the Saccharomyces cerevisiae biology of strains adapted to different fermentative environments, we analyzed the whole transcriptome of three strains isolated from wine, flor wine or mezcal fermentations. An RNA-seq transcriptome comparison of the different yeasts in the samples obtained during synthetic m…

Conserved Organisation of 45S rDNA Sites and rDNA Gene Copy Number among Major Clades of Early Land Plants

2016

Genes encoding ribosomal RNA (rDNA) are universal key constituents of eukaryotic genomes, and the nuclear genome harbours hundreds to several thousand copies of each species. Knowledge about the number of rDNA loci and gene copy number provides information for comparative studies of organismal and molecular evolution at various phylogenetic levels. With the exception of seed plants, the range of 45S rDNA locus (encoding 18S, 5.8S and 26S rRNA) and gene copy number variation within key evolutionary plant groups is largely unknown. This is especially true for the three earliest land plant lineages Marchantiophyta (liverworts), Bryophyta (mosses), and Anthocerotophyta (hornworts). In this work…

Obstacles and opportunities in the functional analysis of extracellular vesicle RNA - an ISEV position paper

2017

The release of RNA-containing extracellular vesicles (EV) into the extracellular milieu has been demonstrated in a multitude of different in vitro cell systems and in a variety of body fluids. RNA-containing EV are in the limelight for their capacity to communicate genetically encoded messages to other cells, their suitability as candidate biomarkers for diseases, and their use as therapeutic agents. Although EV-RNA has attracted enormous interest from basic researchers, clinicians, and industry, we currently have limited knowledge on which mechanisms drive and regulate RNA incorporation into EV and on how RNA-encoded messages affect signalling processes in EV-targeted cells. Moreover, EV-R…