mRNA 5-methylcytosine in Eimeria tenella oocysts: An abundant post-transcriptional modification associated with broad-ranging biological processes.

Eimeria tenella is the major causative agent of chicken coccidiosis. 5-Methylcytosine (m ⁵ C) is a type of RNA chemical modifications reported to regulate diverse biological processes. However, the distribution and biological functions of m ⁵ C in E. tenella mRNAs are yet to be known. Herein, we report transcriptome-wide profiling of mRNA m ⁵ C in E. tenella by employing m ⁵ C RNA immunoprecipitation followed by a deep-sequencing approach (m ⁵ C-RIP-seq). Our data showed that m ⁵ C peaks were distributed across the whole mRNA body. Compared with unsporulated oocysts, there were 2813 hypermethylated and 1850 hypomethylated m ⁵ C peaks in sporulated oocysts. Generally, a positive correlation between m ⁵ C modification and gene expression levels was observed. The mRNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and m ⁵ C-RIP-seq data were consistent with the results of the quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation-qPCR (MeRIP-qPCR), respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analysis predicated diverse biological functions and pathways, including microtubule motor activity, helicase activity, cGMP-PKG signaling pathway, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and spliceosome. Meanwhile, stage-specific gene expression signatures of m ⁵ C-related regulators were observed. Altogether, our findings reveal the transcriptional significance of m ⁵ C modification in E. tenella oocysts, providing resources and clues for further in-depth research.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)