Telomeres are transcribed into telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA), large, heterogeneous, noncoding transcripts which form part of the telomeric heterochromatin. Despite a large number of functions that have been ascribed to TERRA, little is known about its biogenesis. Here, we present the first comprehensive analysis of the molecular structure of TERRA. We identify biochemically distinct T...

Telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) is important for telomere regulation, but the structural basis for how TERRA localizes to chromosome ends is unknown. Here we report on studies exploring whether the TERRA G-quadruplex structure is critical for binding to telomeres. We demonstrate that the telomeric protein TRF2 binds TERRA via interactions that necessitate the formation of a G-quadruplex...

Telomeres are transcribed generating long non-coding RNAs known as TERRA. Deciphering the role of TERRA has been one of the unsolved issues of telomere biology in the past decade. This has been, in part, due to lack of knowledge on the TERRA loci, thus preventing functional genetic studies. Here, we describe that long non-coding RNAs with TERRA features are transcribed from the human 20q and Xp...

The Telomeric Repeat-containing RNAs (TERRA) participate in the homeostasis of telomeres in higher eukaryotes. Here, we investigated the expression of TERRA in Leishmania spp. and Trypanosoma brucei and found evidences for its expression as a specific RNA class. The trypanosomatid TERRA are heterogeneous in size and partially polyadenylated. The levels of TERRA transcripts appear to be modulate...

The Drosophila doublesex (dsx) gene encodes a transcription factor that mediates sex determination. We describe the characterization of a novel zebrafish zinc-finger gene, terra, which contains a DNA binding domain similar to that of the Drosophila dsx gene. However, unlike dsx, terra is transiently expressed in the presomitic mesoderm and newly formed somites. Expression of terra in presomitic...

Telomeres play crucial roles in the maintenance of genome integrity and control of cellular senescence. Most eukaryotic telomeres can be transcribed to generate a telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) that persists as a heterogeneous nuclear RNA and can be developmentally regulated. However, the precise function and regulation of TERRA in normal and cancer cell development remains poorly unde...

Telomeres are transcribed in long noncoding RNA named TERRA. Although TERRA functions have been extensively investigated, the role of TERRA in telomerase recruitment and regulation is still elusive. In this issue of EMBO Reports, Moravec et al report in Schizosaccharomyces pombe that telomere shortening induces the expression of TERRA [1]. They show that polyadenylated TERRA molecules specifica...

The long noncoding telomeric repeat containing RNA (TERRA) is expressed at chromosome ends. TERRA upregulation upon experimental manipulation or in ICF (immunodeficiency, centromeric instability, facial anomalies) patients correlates with short telomeres. To study the mechanism of telomere length control by TERRA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we mapped the transcriptional start site of TERRA at ...

Telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) has been identified as a telomere-associated regulator of chromosome end protection. Here, we report that TERRA can also be found in extracellular fractions that stimulate innate immune signaling. We identified extracellular forms of TERRA in mouse tumor and embryonic brain tissue, as well as in human tissue culture cell lines using RNA in situ hybridizat...

Telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) controls the structure and length of telomeres through interactions with numerous telomere-binding proteins. However, little is known about the mechanism by which TERRA regulates the accessibility of the proteins to telomeres, mainly because of the lack of spatiotemporal information of TERRA and its-interacting proteins. We developed a fluorescent probe t...