Nonsense mediated decay degrades nonproductive RNAs produced by alternative RNA splicing in response to heat stress in Arabidopsis

This raises the question whether plants can recognize and degrade nonproductive RNA isoforms by nonsense-mediated decay (NMD). In this study Arabidopsis seedlings were subjected to heat stress and RNA isoforms were identified that were upregulated by heat treatment but spared degradation in NMD mutants or in seedlings in which translation was blocked by cycloheximide.

The differentially expressed isoforms (DEIs) produced in response to heat stress and that might be relevant to NMD were grouped according to expression patterns. Group 1 DEIs were rapidly heat-induced, then declined during futher heat treatment, but the transcripts were spared from degradation when NMD was compromised. Group 2 DEIs were not upregulated in response to heat; however, their transcript levels declined during heat treatment, but were spared when NMD was blocked.