Measurement of Poly A Tail Length from Drosophila Larva Brain and Cell Line

Summary

The protocol describes an efficient and reliable method for quantifying the poly(A) length of the gene of interest from the Drosophila nervous system, which can be easily adapted to tissues or cell types from other species.

Abstract

Polyadenylation is a crucial posttranscriptional modification that adds poly(A) tails to the 3' end of mRNA molecules. The length of the poly(A) tail is tightly regulated by cellular processes. Dysregulation of mRNA polyadenylation has been associated with abnormal gene expression and various diseases, including cancer, neurological disorders, and developmental abnormalities. Therefore, comprehending the dynamics of polyadenylation is vital for unraveling the complexities of mRNA processing and posttranscriptional gene regulation.

This paper presents a method for measuring poly(A) tail lengths in RNA samples isolated from Drosophila larval brains and Drosophila Schneider S2 cells. We employed the guanosine/inosine (G/I) tailing approach, which involves the enzymatic addition of G/I residues at the 3' end of mRNA using yeast poly(A) polymerase. This modification protects the RNA's 3' end from enzymatic degradation. The protected full-length poly(A) tails are then reverse-transcribed using a universal antisense primer. Subsequently, PCR amplification is performed using a gene-specific oligo that targets the gene of interest, along with a universal sequence oligo used for reverse transcription.

This generates PCR products encompassing the poly(A) tails of the gene of interest. Since polyadenylation is not a uniform modification and results in tails of varying lengths, the PCR products display a range of sizes, leading to a smear pattern on agarose gel. Finally, the PCR products are subjected to high-resolution capillary gel electrophoresis, followed by quantification using the sizes of the poly(A) PCR products and the gene-specific PCR product. This technique offers a straightforward and reliable tool for analyzing poly(A) tail lengths, enabling us to gain deeper insights into the intricate mechanisms governing mRNA regulation.

Introduction

Most eukaryotic mRNAs are posttranscriptionally polyadenylated at their 3′ terminus in the nucleus by the addition of non-templated adenosines by canonical poly(A) polymerases. An intact poly(A) tail is pivotal throughout the lifecycle of mRNA, as it is essential for mRNA nuclear export¹, facilitates interaction with poly(A)-binding proteins to enhance translational efficiency², and imparts resistance against degradation³. In certain cases, the poly(A) tail can also undergo extension in the cytoplasm, facilitated by noncanonical poly(A) polymerases⁴. In the cytoplasm,....

Protocol

1. Rearing and selecting Drosophila larvae

1. Maintain/culture the fly strain (w¹¹¹⁸, wildtype) on standard fly food medium at 25 ˚C in a humidified incubator.
2. Select 10 wandering 3^rd instar larvae 72 h after egg laying.
3. Place the larvae in a 35 mm empty Petri dish and gently wash them by transferring the larvae to the new dish containing tap water using forceps. Do this 2x to remove any remaining .......

Discussion

In this protocol, we describe the technique to dissect the Drosophila larval brain from wandering 3^rd instar stage as well as the sample preparation from Drosophila S2 cells. Due to the labile nature of mRNAs, sample collection requires extra caution. For larval brain dissection, brains should not be damaged during isolation and should not be kept in solution for a prolonged duration. Keeping dissection time to 8-10 min for a round of dissection is essential. It may also be beneficial to supp.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
3-(N-morpholino) propanesulfonic acid (MOPS)	Research Product Internation (RPI)	M92020
Agilent High Sensitivity DNA Kit	Agilent Technologies	5067-4626
Agilent software 2100 expert free download demo	Agilent Technologies		https://www.agilent.com/en/product/automated-electrophoresis/bioanalyzer-systems/bioanalyzer-software/2100-expert-software-228259
Apex 100 bp-Low DNA Ladder	Genesee Scientific	19-109
Bioanalyzer	Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer G2938C
Diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC)	Research Product Internation (RPI)	D43060
DNA dye (Gel Loading Dye, Purple (6x)	New England biolabs	B7024S
Drosophila S2 cell line	Drosophila Genomics Resource Center stock #181
Drosophila Schneider’s Medium	Thermo Fisher Scientific	21720024
Ehidium bromide	Genesee scientific	20-276
Fetal bovine serum (FBS)	Sigma-Aldrich	F4135
Forceps Dumont 5	Fine Science tools	11254-20
Nuclease free water	Thermo Fisher Scientific	AM9932
PBS 10x	Research Product Internation (RPI)	P32200
Poly(A) Tail-Length Assay Kit	Thermo Fisher Scientific	764551KT
RiboRuler Low Range RNA Ladder	Thermo Fisher Scientific	SM1833
RNA Gel Loading Dye (2x)	Thermo Fisher Scientific	R0641
RNA microprep kit	Zymoresearch	R1050
RNA miniprep kit	Zymoresearch	R1055
Scissors-Vannas Spring Scissors - 2.5 mm Cutting Edge	Fine Science tools	15000-08
TopVision Agarose Tablets	Thermo Fisher Scientific	R2802
Tris-Acetate-EDTA (TAE)	Thermo Fisher Scientific	B49