Research

Tissue-specific reprogramming of host tRNA transcriptome by the microbiome

    • 1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China;
    • 2Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA;
    • 3Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
    • 4 These authors contributed equally to this work.
Published April 15, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.272153.120
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Abstract

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are essential for translation, and tRNA expression and modifications are regulated by many factors. However, the interplay between the microbiome and host tRNA profiles through host-microbiome interactions has not been explored. In this study, we investigated host-microbiome interactions via the tRNA profiling of four tissue types from germ-free and specific pathogen-free mice. Our analyses reveal that cytosolic and mitochondrial tRNA expression and tRNA modifications in the host are reprogrammed in a tissue-specific and microbiome-dependent manner. In terms of tRNA expression, the intestines and brains are more sensitive to the influence of the microbiome than the livers and kidneys. In terms of tRNA modifications, cytosolic tRNAs show more obvious changes in the livers and kidneys in the presence of the microbiome. Our findings reveal a previously unexplored relationship among the microbiome, tRNA abundance, and epitranscriptome in a mammalian host.

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