Post-transcriptional regulation by the let-7 microRNA and the TRIM-NHL protein LIN41 [RNA-seq]. Caenorhabditis elegans

We perform RNA sequencing and ribosome profiling time course experiments to examine the effect of fully dysregulating all let-7 targets (in let-7(n2853) animals), partially dysregulating only LIN41 (in lin-41(xe11) animals) or fully dysregulating all let-7 targets while partially dysregulating LIN41 in lin-41(xe11); let-7(n2853) double mutant animals. We conclude that effects on gene expression in let-7 mutant animals are largely and quantitatively explained by dysregulation of LIN41 as its primary target. Furthermore, we identify direct LIN41 target genes regulated on the level of translation or mRNA abundance. Overall design: Total RNA-sequencing time course experiments sampling synchronized worm populations of different genetic backgrounds every two hours over the course of development from late L2/early L3 stage to late L4/Young adult stage.