Zrsr2 is essential for hematopoiesis and splicing of minor introns in RNA and protein processing genes in zebrafish. Zrsr2 is essential for hematopoiesis and splicing of minor introns in RNA and protein processing genes in zebrafish

ZRSR2 is an essential splicing factor involved in 3’-splice site recognition as a component of both the major and minor spliceosomes that mediate splicing of U2- and U12-type introns, respectively. Transcriptome analysis of ZRSR2-mutated bone marrow samples and ZRSR2-knockdown cell lines has revealed its essential role in the minor spliceosome. We established a zrsr2-knockout zebrafish line, termed zrsr2hg129/hg129 (p.Trp167Argfs*9) using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Global transcriptome analysis of 3 dpf zrsr2hg129/hg129 embryos revealed that loss of Zrsr2 leads to aberrant retention of minor introns in about one third of all minor intron-containing genes in zebrafish. Interestingly, these genes showed an enrichment for the RNA and protein processing pathways. Overall, our study has demonstrated that the role of Zrsr2 as a component of the minor spliceosome is conserved in zebrafish. Overall design: mRNA from decapitated 3dpf wild-type and zrsr2hg129/hg129 zebrafish embryos