Genome-wide analyses of XRN1-sensitive targets in osteosarcoma cells identify disease-relevant transcripts containing G-rich motifs.

XRN1 is a highly conserved exoribonuclease which degrades uncapped RNAs in a 5'-3' direction. Degradation of RNAs by XRN1 is important in many cellular and developmental processes and is relevant to human disease. Studies in demonstrate that XRN1 can target specific RNAs, which have important consequences for developmental pathways.

Dis3L2 regulates cell proliferation and tissue growth through a conserved mechanism.

Dis3L2 is a highly conserved 3'-5' exoribonuclease which is mutated in the human overgrowth disorders Perlman syndrome and Wilms' tumour of the kidney. Using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system, we have generated a new dis3L2 null mutant together with wild-type and nuclease-dead genetic lines in Drosophila to demonstrate that the catalytic activity of Dis3L2 is required to control cell proliferation. To understand the cellular pathways regulated by Dis3L2 to control proliferation, we used RNA-seq on dis3L2 mutant wing discs to show that the imaginal disc growth factor Idgf2 is responsible for driving the wing overgrowth.