Quantitative analysis of C. elegans transcripts by Nanopore direct-cDNA sequencing reveals terminal hairpins in non trans-spliced mRNAs

In nematodes and kinetoplastids, mRNA processing involves a trans-splicing step through which a short sequence from a snRNP replaces the original 5’ end of the primary transcript. It has long been held that 70% of C. elegans mRNAs are submitted to trans-splicing. Our recent work suggested that the mechanism is more pervasive but not fully captured by mainstream transcriptome sequencing methods. Here we use Oxford Nanopore’s long-read amplification-free sequencing technology to perform a comprehensive analysis of trans-splicing in worms. We demonstrate that spliced leader (SL) sequences at the 5’ end of the mRNAs affect library preparation and generate sequencing artefacts due to their self-complementarity. Consistent with our previous observations, we find evidence of trans-splicing for most genes. However, a subset of genes appears to be only marginally trans-spliced. These mRNAs all share the capacity to generate a 5’ terminal hairpin structure mimicking the SL structure and offering a mechanistic explanation for their non conformity. Altogether, our data provide a comprehensive quantitative analysis of SL usage in C. elegans.