Accepted_test
Birds, like many other vertebrates, have a hypertranscriptional type of oogenesis, with an exceptionally high rate of RNA synthesis in the oocyte nucleus. Higher RNA polymerase II velocity directly correlates with the production of newly synthesised circular RNA (circRNAs). Recently, we have undertaken a detailed characterisation of the nuclear and cytoplasmic transcriptome of chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) oocytes at the lampbrush chromosome stage of oogenesis (bioRxiv. 2024.02.05.577752). Here we aimed to characterise nuclear and cytoplasmic circRNAs including stable intronic sequences RNA. Comparison of the nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA profiles of chicken oocytes revealed the nuclear retention of certain introns in the form of sisRNAs resistant to RNase R treatment. Using CIRCexplorer2, we predicted circRNAs de novo in RNA samples after RNase R treatment, in total and poly(A) RNA libraries. Genomic regions covered by the identified circRNAs include 5'UTR, exonic and intronic regions. RNase R resistant, stable intronic lariats bearing snoRNA or scaRNA are also characterized. We propose that nuclear retained sisRNAs, produced by a number of transcribed genes on the lateral loops of avian and amphibian lampbrush chromosomes via a splicing-dependent mechanism, can maintain the continued transcription of their host genes either at the lampbrush stage of oogenesis or during embryogenesis.