Involvement of Dcr1 in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

The ribonuclease III Dicer (Dcr1) has been shown to be required for chromosome segregation and gene silencing in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. These effects are thought to be transcriptional, mediated by formation and maintenance of heterochromatin, and guided by small RNAs derived from Dcr1 along a process known as RNA interference. In order to get further insights into the gene regulatory role of Dcr1, we performed comparative analyses of dcr1 knockout and wild-type fission yeast strains. Analysis of part of the soluble proteomes identified eight cellular proteins whose expression is under Dcr1 control, three of which are integral constituents of the glycolysis pathway. Further correlations with their respective mRNA transcript levels are compatible with the existence of a post-transcriptional gene regulatory mechanism involving Dcr1 or a Dcr1 complex. Experiments designed to identify components of Dcr1 complexes unveiled two novel Dcr1 interactors, namely the zinc finger protein Byr3 and the ribosomal protein L12. Consistently enriched in Dcr1 immune complexes, Byr3 and L12 may link Dcr1 to the transcriptional and translational machineries, respectively, and contribute to post-transcriptional gene regulation in fission yeast.