The splicing kinase PRPF-4 is required for somatic development and germline function in C. elegans
- 1University of North Texas
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.
Related
- SOX7 Is Required for Muscle Satellite Cell Development and Maintenance
- PPR9 mediates mitochondrial nad transcript maturation required for complex I biogenesis and early plant development in Arabidopsis.
- Development of Potent and Selective Tissue Transglutaminase Inhibitors: Their Effect on TG2 Function and Application in Pathological Conditions
- A common germline 3′ UTR variant controls DDIT4 translation efficiency and stress responses in cancer cells
- A Mechanistic Framework for Somatic Mosaicism in Autoinflammatory Diseases Beyond Mendelian Inheritance
BibTeX
@misc{barron2026splicing,
title = {{The splicing kinase PRPF-4 is required for somatic development and germline function in C. elegans}},
author = {W. C. Barron and X. Wei and S. Ferdousy and L. Zhu and F. W. Meng and B. Chen},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.28.747746},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747746v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The splicing kinase PRPF-4 is required for somatic development and germline function in C. elegans
AU - W. C. Barron
AU - X. Wei
AU - S. Ferdousy
AU - L. Zhu
AU - F. W. Meng
AU - B. Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/28
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.28.747746
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747746v1
AB - 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.
ER -