University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications
Title
Nuclear hubs built on RNAs and clustered organization of the genome
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Neurology; Lawrence Lab
Publication Date
2020-06-01
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins | Cell Biology | Developmental Biology | Genetic Phenomena | Genetics and Genomics | Nucleic Acids, Nucleotides, and Nucleosides
Abstract
RNAs play diverse roles in formation and function of subnuclear compartments, most of which are associated with active genes. NEAT1 and NEAT2/MALAT1 exemplify long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) known to function in nuclear bodies; however, we suggest that RNA biogenesis itself may underpin much nuclear compartmentalization. Recent studies show that active genes cluster with nuclear speckles on a genome-wide scale, significantly advancing earlier cytological evidence that speckles (aka SC-35 domains) are hubs of concentrated pre-mRNA metabolism. We propose the 'karyotype to hub' hypothesis to explain this organization: clustering of genes in the human karyotype may have evolved to facilitate the formation of efficient nuclear hubs, driven in part by the propensity of ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) to form large-scale condensates. The special capacity of highly repetitive RNAs to impact architecture is highlighted by recent findings that human satellite II RNA sequesters factors into abnormal nuclear bodies in disease, potentially co-opting a normal developmental mechanism.
Keywords
Chromosome bands, Genome organization, Non-coding RNA, Nuclear structure, Speckles
DOI of Published Version
10.1016/j.ceb.2020.02.015
Source
Smith KP, Hall LL, Lawrence JB. Nuclear hubs built on RNAs and clustered organization of the genome. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2020 Jun;64:67-76. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2020.02.015. Epub 2020 Apr 4. PMID: 32259767; PMCID: PMC7371543. Link to article on publisher's site
Related Resources
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Current opinion in cell biology
PubMed ID
32259767
Repository Citation
Smith KP, Hall LL, Lawrence JB. (2020). Nuclear hubs built on RNAs and clustered organization of the genome. University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceb.2020.02.015. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/faculty_pubs/1719