%0 Journal Article %A Gemma Danks %A Heloisa Galbiati %A Martina Raasholm %A Yamila N. Torres Cleuren %A Eivind Valen %A Pavla Navratilova %A Eric M. Thompson %T Trans-splicing of mRNAs links gene transcription to translational control regulated by mTOR %D 2018 %R 10.1101/353979 %J bioRxiv %P 353979 %X In phylogenetically diverse organisms, the 5’ ends of a subset of mRNAs are trans-spliced with a spliced leader (SL) RNA. The functions of SL trans-splicing, however, remain largely enigmatic. Here, we quantified translation genome-wide in the marine chordate, Oikopleura dioica, under inhibition of mTOR, a central growth regulator. Translation of trans-spliced TOP mRNAs was suppressed, showing that the SL sequence permits nutrient-dependent translational control of growth-related mRNAs. Under crowded, nutrient-limiting conditions, O. dioica continues to filter-feed, but arrests growth until favorable conditions return. Upon release from such conditions, initial recovery was independent of nutrient-responsive, trans-spliced genes, suggesting animal density sensing as a first trigger for resumption of development. Our results demonstrate a role for trans-splicing in the coordinated translational down-regulation of nutrient-responsive genes under limiting conditions and suggest an innovative strategy for rapid evolution of mTOR targets in genomes of metazoans whose reproduction is tightly linked to nutritional cues. %U https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/06/22/353979.full.pdf