A non-canonical role for a small nucleolar RNA in ribosome biogenesis and senescence (RNA-sequencing)

Oncogene-induced senescence is an important tumor suppressor mechanism that limits proliferation of cells harboring oncogenic mutations. Through a genome-wide screen, we discovered a conserved snoRNA, SNORA13, that is required for this pathway. Although SNORA13 guides the pseudouridylation of a highly conserved nucleotide in the ribosomal decoding center, loss of this snoRNA minimally impacts translation. Instead, we found that SNORA13 negatively regulates ribosome biogenesis. Oncogenic stress perturbs ribosome biogenesis, resulting in the accumulation of free ribosomal proteins (RPs) that trigger p53 activation. We showed that SNORA13 interacts directly with RPL23, decreasing its incorporation into maturing 60S subunits and, consequently, increasing the pool of free RPs, thereby promoting the p53-mediated senescence program. Thus, SNORA13 regulates ribosome biogenesis and the p53 pathway through a non-canonical mechanism distinct from its role in guiding RNA modification. These findings expand our understanding of snoRNA functions and the roles of these abundant noncoding RNAs in cellular signaling.