Comparative poly(A)+ RNA interactome capture of fission yeast RNA exosome mutants reveals insights into RNA biogenesis

The nuclear RNA exosome plays a key role in quality control and processing of multiple protein-coding and non-coding transcripts made by RNA polymerase II. A mechanistic understanding of exosome function remains a challenge given it has multiple roles in RNA regulation. Here we have analysed changes in the poly(A)+ RNA transcriptome and interactome provoked by mutations in three distinct subunits of the nuclear RNA exosome. We have identified multiple proteins whose occupancy on RNA is altered in the exosome mutants. We demonstrate that the Zinc-finger protein Mub1 regulates exosome dependent transcripts that encode stress-responsive proteins. Furthermore, we assess impact of the exosome inactivation upon RNA binding of the components of the mRNA processing machineries such as spliceosome and mRNA cleavage polyadenylation complex. We show that mutations in the exosome lead to accumulation of the components of U1 and U2 snRNPs on poly(A)+ RNA and depletion of the components of the activated spliceosome from RNA suggesting that the early stages of spliceosome assembly might provide a critical quality control step. Collectively, our data provide a global view of how RNA metabolism is affected in the exosome-deficient cells and reveal RNA-binding proteins that may act as novel exosome cofactors.