Retention of RNA in the nucleus precisely regulates the time and rate of translation and controls transcriptional bursts that can generate profound variability in mRNA levels among identical cells in tissues. In this study, we investigated the function of Cajal bodies (CBs) in RNA retention in A. thaliana leaf nuclei during hypoxia stress was investigated. It was observed that in ncb-1 mutants with a complete absence of CBs, the accumulation of poly(A+) RNA in the leaf nuclei was lower than that in wt under stress. Moreover, unlike in root cells, CBs store less RNA, and RNA retention in the nuclei is much less intense. Our results reveal that the function of CBs in the accumulation of RNA in nuclei under stress depends on the plant organ. Additionally, in ncb-1, retention of introns of mRNA RPB1 (largest subunit of RNA polymerase II) mRNA was observed. However, this isoform is highly accumulated in the nucleus. It thus follows that intron retention in transcripts is more important than CBs for the accumulation of RNA in nuclei. Accumulated mRNAs with introns in the nucleus could escape transcript degradation by NMD (nonsense-mediated mRNA decay). From non-fully spliced mRNAs in ncb-1 nuclei, whose levels increase during hypoxia, introns are removed during reoxygenation. Then, the mRNA is transferred to the cytoplasm, and the RPB1 protein is translated. Despite the accumulation of isoforms in nuclei with retention of introns in reoxygenation, ncb-1 coped much worse with long hypoxia, and manifested faster yellowing and shrinkage of leaves.
Keywords: Cajal bodies; hypoxia; intron retention; nuclear retention.