Phase separation of SERRATE drives dicing body assembly and promotes miRNA processing in Arabidopsis.

MicroRNA (miRNA) production entails the step-wise processing of primary miRNAs (pri-miRNAs) into precursor miRNAs (pre-miRNAs) and miRNA/* duplexes by Dicing complexes containing DCL1, HYL1 and SE, which are localized in nuclear dicing bodies (D-bodies)1,2. Here, we show that D-bodies are phase-separated condensates. SE forms droplets and drives DCL1, HYL1 and pri/pre-miRNAs into the droplets in vitro, and mutation of SE abrogates the formation of D-bodies in vivo, which indicates that D-bodies arise through SE-mediated phase separation. Disruption of SE phase separation greatly reduces its activity in promoting miRNA processing both in vitro and in vivo. We further show that pre-miRNAs are processed into miRNA/* duplexes in the droplets and, after processing, miRNA/* duplexes are bound by HYL1 and released from the droplets. Our findings provide evidence that efficient miRNA processing depends on the SE-phase-separation-mediated formation of D-bodies and suggest a paradigm that the products made in phase-separated condensates can be shipped out for subsequent processes.

Citation

Dongqi Xie, Min Chen, Jinrong Niu, Liang Wang, Yan Li, Xiaofeng Fang, Pilong Li, Yijun Qi. Phase separation of SERRATE drives dicing body assembly and promotes miRNA processing in Arabidopsis. Nature cell biology. 2021 Jan;23(1):32-39

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PMID: 33288888

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