“Temperature-Dependent RNA Editing in Octopus Extensively Recodes the Neural Proteome”, Matthew A. Birk, Noa Liscovitch-Brauer, Matthew J. Dominguez, Sean McNeme, Yang Yue, J. Damon Hoff, Itamar Twersky, Kristen J. Verhey, R. Bryan Sutton, Eli Eisenberg, Joshua J. C. Rosenthal2023-06-08 (gene editing, neuroscience)⁠:

• Octopus bimaculoides increase A-to-I RNA editing at >20,000 sites in the cold

• Editing shifts occur within hours and are observed in wild populations

• As a functional example, one cold-induced site alters kinesin motility

• Another cold-induced site alters Ca²⁺-binding affinity of synaptotagmin

In [cold-blooded] poikilotherms, temperature changes challenge the integration of physiological function. Within the complex nervous systems of the behaviorally-sophisticated coleoid cephalopods, these problems are substantial. RNA editing by adenosine deamination is a well-positioned mechanism for environmental acclimation.

We report that the neural proteome of Octopus bimaculoides undergoes massive reconfigurations via RNA editing following a temperature challenge. Over 13,000 codons are affected, and many alter proteins that are vital for neural processes. For two highly temperature-sensitive examples, recoding tunes protein function: For synaptotagmin, a key component of Ca²⁺-dependent neurotransmitter release, crystal structures and supporting experiments show that editing alters Ca²⁺ binding. · For kinesin-1, a motor protein driving axonal transport, editing regulates transport velocity down microtubules.

Seasonal sampling of wild-caught specimens indicates that temperature-dependent editing occurs in the field as well.

These data show that A-to-I editing tunes neurophysiological function in response to temperature in octopus and most likely other coleoids.

[Keywords: ADAR, cephalopod, kinesin, synaptotagmin, acclimation, RNA editing, temperature, epitranscriptome, RNA modifications, neural plasticity]

See Also:

• RNA recoding in cephalopods tailors microtubule motor protein function

• MicroRNAs are deeply linked to the emergence of the complex octopus brain

• Identification of LINE retrotransposons and long non-coding RNAs expressed in the octopus brain

• A bacterial cytidine deaminase toxin enables CRISPR-free mitochondrial base editing