Drosophila Trf4-1 involves in mRNA and primary miRNA transcription

Abstract Drosophila Trf4-1 (DmTrf4-1) is a polyadenylation polymerase or terminal nucleotidyl transferase (PAP/TENT) that has been reported to add poly(A) tails to snRNAs in nucleus or mRNAs in cytoplasm. Here, we found that the loss of Trf4-1 resulted in the reduction of mRNAs and primary miRNAs (pri-miRNAs) in both Drosophila S2 cells and adult flies. Interestingly, the role of Trf4-1 in transcription is independent of its PAP/TENT activity. Moreover, using the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, we uncovered that the loss of Trf4-1 led to abnormal RNA polymerase II accumulation and reduced H3K4me3 binding in promoter regions. Thus, our study indicates a positive role of Trf4-1 in the transcription of mRNAs and pri-miRNAs.