Heras, Sara R.Macias, SaraPlass Pórtulas, Mireya, 1982-Fernandez, NoemíCano Ferrer, DavidEyras Jiménez, EduardoGarcia Perez, José L.Cáceres, Javier F.2019-02-042019-02-042013Heras SR, Macias S, Plass M, Fernandez N, Cano D, Eyras E, Garcia-Perez JL, Cáceres JF. The Microprocessor controls the activity of mammalian retrotransposons. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2013;20(10):1173-81. DOI 10.1038/nsmb.26581545-9993http://hdl.handle.net/10230/36489More than half of the human genome is made of transposable elements whose ongoing mobilization is a driving force in genetic diversity; however, little is known about how the host regulates their activity. Here, we show that the Microprocessor (Drosha-DGCR8), which is required for microRNA biogenesis, also recognizes and binds RNAs derived from human long interspersed element 1 (LINE-1), Alu and SVA retrotransposons. Expression analyses demonstrate that cells lacking a functional Microprocessor accumulate LINE-1 mRNA and encoded proteins. Furthermore, we show that structured regions of the LINE-1 mRNA can be cleaved in vitro by Drosha. Additionally, we used a cell culture–based assay to show that the Microprocessor negatively regulates LINE-1 and Alu retrotransposition in vivo. Altogether, these data reveal a new role for the Microprocessor as a post-transcriptional repressor of mammalian retrotransposons and a defender of human genome integrity.application/pdfeng© Springer Nature Publishing AG. Heras SR, Macias S, Plass M, Fernandez N, Cano D, Eyras E, Garcia-Perez JL, Cáceres JF. The Microprocessor controls the activity of mammalian retrotransposons. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2013; 20(10):1173-81. DOI 10.1038/nsmb.2658 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.2658]info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.2658miRNAsRNATranspositioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess