iCLIP of components of the TREX complex

During gene expression, RNA export factors are mainly known for driving nucleocytoplasmic transport. While early studies suggested that the Exon Junction Complex (EJC) may provide a binding platform for them, subsequent work proposed that they are only recruited by the Cap-Binding Complex (CBC) to the 5’ end of RNAs, as part of the TREX complex. Using iCLIP, we show that the export receptor Nxf1 and two TREX subunits, Alyref and Chtop, are actually recruited to the whole mRNA co-transcriptionally via splicing but before 3’-end processing. Consequently, Alyref can alter splicing decisions and Chtop regulates alternative polyadenylation. Surprisingly, we observe that eIF4A3 stimulates Alyref deposition on single exon or spliced RNAs close to EJC sites. Additional experiments suggest that Alyref is recruited to the 5’-end of RNAs by CBC before binding RNAs near EJCs. Our study reveals mechanical insights into the co-transcriptional recruitment of mRNA export factors and how this shapes the human transcriptome. Individual Crosslinkind and ImmunoPrecipitation (iCLIP) was performed in triplicate on HEK293T FlipIn cell lines expressing FLAG tagged copies of one of Alyref, Chtop or Nxf1 or were performed using a cell line expressing the FlipIn FLAG construct only as a control.