Ribonuclease activity of MARF1 controls oocyte RNA homeostasis and genome integrity in mice.

Title of Paper:Ribonuclease activity of MARF1 controls oocyte RNA homeostasis and genome integrity in mice.

Journal:Proc Natl Acad Sci USA

Place of Publication:USA

Key Words:MARF1; RNase; crystal structure; female infertility; oocyte meiosis

Summary:Producing normal eggs for fertilization and species propagation requires completion of meiosis and protection of the genome from the ravages of retrotransposons. Mutation of Marf1 (meiosis regulator and mRNA stability factor 1) results in defects in both these key processes in mouse oocytes and thus in infertility. MARF1 was predicted to have ribonuclease activity, but the structural basis for the function of MARF1 and the contribution of its putative ribonuclease domain to the mutant oocyte phenotype was unknown. Therefore, we resolved the crystal structures of key domains of MARF1 and demonstrated by biochemical and mutagenic analyses that the ribonuclease activity of MARF1 controls oocyte meiotic progression and retrotransposon surveillance. The N-terminal NYN domain of MARF1 resembles the nuclease domains of Vpa0982, T4 RNase H, and MCPIP1 and contains four conserved aspartate residues, D178, D215, D246, and D272. The C-terminal LOTUS domain of MARF1 adopts a winged helix-turn-helix fold and binds ssRNA and dsRNA. Purified MARF1 cleaved ssRNAs in vitro, but this cleavage activity was abolished by mutations of conserved aspartates in its NYN domain and truncation of the LOTUS domain. Furthermore, a point mutation in the D272 residue in vivo caused a female-only infertile phenotype in mice, with failure of meiotic resumption and elevation of Line1 and Iap retrotransposon transcripts and DNA double-strand breaks in oocytes. Therefore, the ribonuclease activity of MARF1 controls oocyte meiosis and genome integrity. This activity depends upon conserved aspartic residues in the catalytic NYN domain and the RNA-binding activity of the LOTUS domain.

First Author:Qingqing Yao

Correspondence Author: You-Qiang Su,Jinbiao Ma

All the Authors: Lina Zheng, Xiang Yu, Jiayi Chen, Lanying Shi, Hong Yin, Jing Guo, Teng Zhang, Xiaoyun Zhang, Baixing Wu, Mingzhe Li,Guangyi Cao

Document Code:10.1073/pnas.1809744115

Volume:115

Issue:44

Page Number:11250-11255

ISSN:1091-6490

Translation or Not:No

Date of Publication:2018-10

Release Time:2025-04-30