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bioRxiv · 10.1101/773226

Computational discovery of hidden breaks in 28S rRNA across eukaryotes and consequences for RNA Integrity Numbers

Natsidis, P.·Schiffer, P. H.·Salvador-Martinez, I.·Telford, M. J.
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Abstract

In some eukaryotes, a hidden break has been described in which the 28S ribosomal RNA molecule is cleaved into two subparts. The break is common in protostome animals (arthropods, molluscs, annelids etc.) but a break has also been reported in some vertebrates and non-metazoan eukaryotes. We present a new computational approach to determine the presence of the hidden break in 28S rRNAs using mapping of RNA-Seq data. We find a homologous break is present across protostomes although has been lost in a small number of taxa. We show that rare breaks in vertebrate 28S rRNAs are not homologous to the protostome break. A break is found in just 4 out of 331 species of non-animal eukaryotes studied and three of these are located in the same position as the protostome break suggesting a striking instance of convergent evolution. RNA Integrity Numbers (RIN) rely on intact 28s rRNA and will be consistently underestimated in the great majority of animal species with a break.

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Natsidis, P., Schiffer, P. H., Salvador-Martinez, I., Telford, M. J.. 2019-09-18. Computational discovery of hidden breaks in 28S rRNA across eukaryotes and consequences for RNA Integrity Numbers. https://doi.org/10.1101/773226

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