Next Generation Sequencing Comparison of Wild Type and Whsc1-/- Activated B-cell Transcriptomes

Whsc1 gene codes for a SET domain-containing H3K36 dimethylase, whose activity has been suggested, in ex vivo cell culture experiments, to control many aspects of DNA and RNA processing (replication, repair, transcription, etc). Its precise function in vivo is still unclear. Here, we use RNA-seq transcriptome analysis to study the changes in gene expression in the absence of Whsc1. Our results show that, in the experimental system used, loss of Whsc1 caused massive changes in genes affecting many fundamental cellular processes, from cell cycle to ribosome synthesis, DNA repair, replication, etc.

Whsc1基因编码一种含SET结构域（SET domain）的H3K36二甲基化酶（H3K36 dimethylase）。已有体外细胞培养实验（ex vivo cell culture experiments）研究提示，该酶的活性可调控DNA与RNA加工的诸多环节，涵盖复制、修复、转录等过程。但其在体内（in vivo）的精确功能仍未明确。本研究采用RNA测序（RNA-seq）转录组分析技术，探究Whsc1基因缺失后的细胞基因表达变化。结果显示，在所采用的实验体系中，Whsc1基因的缺失会引发大量基因的表达改变，这些基因涉及细胞周期、核糖体合成、DNA修复与复制等诸多核心细胞生物学过程。