Department of BioHealth Informatics, School of Informatics and Computing, IUPUI, Indianapolis, United States
Shivang Bhaskar
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
Anurupa Moitra
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
Hazel Mangan
Centre for Chromosome Biology, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
Elizabeth Tseng
Pacific Biosciences, Menlo Park, United States
Rachel B Gilmore
Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, United States
Susan M Frier
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc, Carlsbad, United States
Xin Chen
Department of Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
Chengliang Wang
Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
Sui Huang
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Chicago, United States
Stormy Chamberlain
Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, United States
Hong Jin
Department of Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States; Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
Jonas Korlach
Pacific Biosciences, Menlo Park, United States
Brian McStay
Centre for Chromosome Biology, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
Saurabh Sinha
Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, United States
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States; Cancer Center at Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States; Cancer Center at Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
Out of the several hundred copies of rRNA genes arranged in the nucleolar organizing regions (NOR) of the five human acrocentric chromosomes, ~50% remain transcriptionally inactive. NOR-associated sequences and epigenetic modifications contribute to the differential expression of rRNAs. However, the mechanism(s) controlling the dosage of active versus inactive rRNA genes within each NOR in mammals is yet to be determined. We have discovered a family of ncRNAs, SNULs (Single NUcleolus Localized RNA), which form constrained sub-nucleolar territories on individual NORs and influence rRNA expression. Individual members of the SNULs monoallelically associate with specific NOR-containing chromosomes. SNULs share sequence similarity to pre-rRNA and localize in the sub-nucleolar compartment with pre-rRNA. Finally, SNULs control rRNA expression by influencing pre-rRNA sorting to the DFC compartment and pre-rRNA processing. Our study discovered a novel class of ncRNAs influencing rRNA expression by forming constrained nucleolar territories on individual NORs.
