Ya-jie Zhu1
1Ocean University of China, China
RNA editing is a post-transcriptional modification that plays an important role in the thermal adaptation. To investigate the temperature patterns and potential functional importance of RNA editing events in intertidal mollusks which are often exposed to thermal stress, we conducted a genome-wide identification and analysis of RNA editing sites in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis at various temperatures (16, 22, 25, 28, and 31°C). We found that the number of A-to-I editing sites significantly decreased with increasing temperature (p < 0.05). Additionally, the mRNA expression level of the two ADARs was positively correlated with the amount of A-to-I editing sites (p < 0.05). More importantly, the shared edited genes among five temperatures were significantly enriched in biological processes (e.g. negative regulation of apoptotic process). The unique edited genes at 31°C were significantly enriched in cellular signaling (e.g. GTPase activator activity). Luciferase assays showed that protein translation efficiency was positively related to the number of A-to-I editing sites of the 3’UTR region of an mRNA. Our study demonstrates that A-to-I editing sites in mussels are temperature-sensitive, and that ADAR accessibility to target RNAs is one reason for this sensitivity. The potential functions of RNA editing events in intertidal mollusks can help them adapt to stressful thermal environments.
Biography
Ya-jie Zhu is a PhD candidate at Ocean University of China. She focuses on the intertidal zone, where organisms periodically experience a transition between aquatic and terrestrial environments. Her research focuses on exploring how organisms adapt to environmental temperature at the RNA level.