{
  "abstract": "Pre-mRNA splicing is essential for gene expression, yet how disruption of core spliceosomal factors produces tissue- and developmental stage-specific phenotypes remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the in vivo function of the conserved spliceosomal kinase PRPF-4 in C. elegans using endogenous reporter analysis, conditional protein depletion, and transcriptome-wide analysis of alternative splicing and gene expression. We found that PRPF-4 is broadly expressed throughout development and is continuously required for postembryonic development, with distinct requirements in the pharynx, nervous system, and germline. Acute PRPF-4 depletion rapidly disrupts alternative splicing across thousands of transcripts, with exon skipping representing the predominant class of affected events. In addition, PRPF-4 depletion results in a robust transcriptome shift with induction of components of the spliceosome and repression of ciliary and ion transport-related transcripts. These findings establish PRPF-4 as a central regulator of RNA metabolism and demonstrate the far-reaching effects on gene expression caused by loss of core spliceosomal components.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of North Texas"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "W. C. Barron"
    },
    {
      "name": "X. Wei"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Ferdousy"
    },
    {
      "name": "L. Zhu"
    },
    {
      "name": "F. W. Meng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "B. Chen"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dscx6js21e1tc.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.08.28.747746",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747746v1.full",
  "id": "dscx6js21e1tc",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747746v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "molecular biology"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|RNA Research and Splicing"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7204763131",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747746v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-28",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dscx6js21e1tc.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:27Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.08.28.747746",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747746v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "biorxiv:molecular biology",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The splicing kinase PRPF-4 is required for somatic development and germline function in C. elegans",
  "title_text": "The splicing kinase PRPF-4 is required for somatic development and germline function in C. elegans",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:27Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dscx6js21e1tc",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}