PARN mediates 3''-end trimming of Argonaute-cleaved precursor microRNAs

microRNAs (miRNAs) are typically generated as ~22-nucleotide double-stranded RNAs via processing of precursor hairpins by the RNase III enzyme Dicer, after which they are loaded into Argonaute (Ago) proteins to form RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). However, the biogenesis of miR-451, an erythropoietic miRNA conserved in vertebrates, does not require Dicer processing. Instead, the short pre-miR-451 precursor hairpin is directly loaded into Ago, followed by cleavage of the 3'' arm and trimming of the 3'' end to the mature length by PARN. Here we show the in vivo activity of miR-430 Ago2-hairpin, a canonical microRNA engineered to fit the structure of miR-451 and hence become Ago2-dependent. Moreover, we test a modified miR-430 Ago2-haipin with 3x phoshorothioate bonds that impairs trimmng. Surprisingly, our data show that trimming of Ago-cleaved pre-miRNAs is not essential for target silencing, indicating that RISC is functional with miRNAs longer than 22-nucleotides. Overall design: Rescue of MZdicer zebrafish mutant with the injection of trimmable and nontrimmable miR-430 Ago2 hairpins: Transcriptome of wild type, MZdicer mutant, and MZdicer mutant micoinjected with miR-430 duplex, miR-430 (Ago2-haripin), miR-430 (Ago2-haripin 3xPhosphorothioate)

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Yoda M, Cifuentes D, Izumi N, Sakaguchi Y, Suzuki T, Giraldez AJ, Tomari Y