Evidence for Transcriptome-wide RNA Editing Among Sus scrofa PRE-1 SINE Elements

Background RNA editing by ADAR (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA) proteins is a form of transcriptional regulation that is widespread among humans and other primates. Based on high-throughput scans used to identify putative RNA editing sites, ADAR appears to catalyze a substantial number of adenosine to inosine transitions within repetitive regions of the primate transcriptome, thereby dramatically enhancing genetic variation beyond what is encoded in the genome.

Results Here, we demonstrate the editing potential of the pig transcriptome by utilizing DNA and RNA sequence data from the same pig. We identified a total of 8550 mismatches between DNA and RNA sequences across three tissues, with 75% of these exhibiting an A-to-G (DNA to RNA) discrepancy, indicative of a canonical ADAR-catalyzed RNA editing event. When we consider only mismatches within repetitive regions of the genome, the A-to-G percentage increases to 94%, with the majority of these located within the swine specific SINE retrotransposon PRE-1. We also observe evidence of A-to-G editing within coding regions that were previously verified in primates.

Conclusions Thus, our high-throughput evidence suggests that pervasive RNA editing by ADAR can exist outside of the primate lineage to dramatically enhance genetic variation in pigs.