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PMID: 3022935 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Evidence for trans splicing in trypanosomes.

Cell ·Vol. 47 ·No. 4 ·1986-11-21 ·Pages 527-35

Sutton RE, Boothroyd JC

Abstract

The 5' ends of trypanosome mRNAs consist of an identical sequence of 35 nucleotides. This "mini-exon" sequence is derived from the 5' end of a 137 nucleotide RNA (medRNA). The remainder of each mRNA is derived from a protein-coding exon that is not linked to the mini-exon. We propose that medRNA is spliced in trans to de-novo-initiated transcripts of protein-coding genes. This trans splicing model predicts that the downstream portion of medRNA will be part of a branched structure and then be released as a free product (minRNA). We demonstrate that significant levels of minRNA exist in trypanosome RNA. Furthermore, minRNA can be released from high molecular weight RNA by a HeLa cell S100 "debranching" extract. We conclude that trans splicing is the physiological process by which mature mRNA molecules are synthesized in trypanosomes.

MeSH Terms
Animals Base Sequence Endonucleases Exons Nucleic Acid Precursors/genetics RNA Splicing RNA, Messenger/genetics Single-Strand Specific DNA and RNA Endonucleases Trypanosoma/genetics
Chemicals
Nucleic Acid Precursors RNA, Messenger Endonucleases Single-Strand Specific DNA and RNA Endonucleases
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Sutton R E
Boothroyd J C
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45 references, click to expand
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Article Info
Journal
Cell
Abbr.
Cell
ISSN
0092-8674
DOI
10.1016/0092-8674(86)90617-3
Published
1986-11-21
Pages
527-35
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
0413066
PMCID
PMC7133315
Subset
IM
Grants
NIAID NIH HHS · AI21023 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM07365 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90617-3 PMC Full Text View journal details
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