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Pseudouridine (Ψ) is an ubiquitous RNA modification, present in the tRNAs and rRNAs of species across all domains of life. Conserved pseudouridine synthases modify the mRNAs of diverse eukaryotes, but the modification has yet to be identified in bacterial mRNAs. Here, we report the discovery of pseudouridines in mRNA from E. coli. By testing the mRNA modification capacity of all 11 known pseudouridine synthases, we identify RluA as the predominant mRNA-modifying enzyme. RluA, a known tRNA and 23S rRNA pseudouridine synthase, modifies at least 31 of the 44 high-confidence sites we identified in E. coli mRNAs. Using RNA structure probing data to inform secondary structures, we show that the target sites of RluA occur in a common sequence and structural motif comprised of a ΨURAA sequence located in the loop of a short hairpin. This recognition element is shared with previously identified target sites of RluA in tRNAs and rRNA. Overall, our work identifies pseudouridine in key mRNAs and suggests the capacity of Ψ to regulate the transcripts that contain it. Author summary: While RNAs are initially transcribed using only the nucleotides A, G, C and U, these nucleotides can be enzymatically modified into many different post-transcriptional modifications. tRNAs and rRNAs across all domains of life are modified with pseudouridine, an isoform of uridine that is inserted by highly conserved enzymes. In many eukaryotes, it has been demonstrated that some of these enzymes can also insert pseudouridines in mRNA, where they are poised to impact gene expression through their effects on the transcript. Here we show that protein-coding transcripts in E. coli are also modified with pseudouridine, indicating that mRNA pseudouridylation is also a highly conserved activity. RluA is the main mRNA pseudouridine synthase, introducing the modification into the transcripts of dozens of protein coding genes with high specificity. Its target sites are defined by a combined sequence and secondary structure motif. Two additional enzymes, RluC and RluD, introduce a few additional sites. All three of these enzymes belong to the same sub-family of pseudouridine synthases, and homologs of these also modify mRNAs in humans. Thus, mRNA modification by these enzymes might be a conserved activity with the capacity to impact gene regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to A, C, G and U, RNA contains over 100 additional chemically distinct residues. An abundant modified base frequently found in tRNAs, dihydrouridine (D) has recently been mapped to over 100 positions in mRNAs in yeast and human cells. Multiple highly conserved dihydrouridine synthases associate with and modify mRNA, suggesting there are many D sites yet to be found. Because D alters RNA structure, installation of D in mRNA is likely to effect multiple steps in mRNA metabolism including processing, trafficking, translation, and degradation. Here, we introduce D-seq, a method to chart the D landscape at single nucleotide resolution. The included protocols start with RNA isolation and carry through D-seq library preparation and data analysis. While the protocols below are tailored to map Ds in mRNA, the D-seq method is generalizable to any RNA type of interest, including non-coding RNAs, which have also recently been identified as dihydrouridine synthase targets., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Pseudouridine (Ψ) is one of the most abundant modifications in cellular RNAs. High-throughput pseudouridine profiling of eukaryotic mRNAs from cells has revealed novel sites of modification across the transcriptome. Pseudouridine affects RNA structure and RNA-protein interactions with the potential to influence many steps of mRNA metabolism and thereby affect gene expression. Identifying the mechanisms by which individual pseudouridines sites are modified by pseudouridine synthases (PUS) will facilitate studies on the molecular functions of Ψ. Multiple pseudouridine synthases are expressed in all organisms and might direct pseudouridylation of diverse cellular RNAs, but the RNA targets of many enzymes and their specificity determinants remain to be defined. We developed a high-throughput in vitro pseudouridylation assay followed by sequencing that allows validation of candidate sites identified in cells, assignment of sites as direct targets of PUS and interrogation of the RNA sequence and structural features that direct modification. We also implemented an analysis pipeline to assign Ψ sites from these data, including an updated approach to peak-calling that accounts for noisy signal from low-abundance transcripts., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)