Single-molecule fluorescence-based studies on the dynamics, assembly and catalytic mechanism of the spliceosome

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 1211-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandani Warnasooriya ◽  
David Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Catalytic Mechanism ◽  
Cellular Gene ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Assembly Kinetics ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Conformational Rearrangements ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Mrna Precursor ◽  
Precursor Mrna

Pre-mRNA (precursor mRNA) splicing is a key step in cellular gene expression where introns are excised and exons are ligated together to produce mature mRNA. This process is catalysed by the spliceosome, which consists of five snRNPs (small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles) and numerous protein factors. Assembly of these snRNPs and associated proteins is a highly dynamic process, making it challenging to study the conformational rearrangements and spliceosome assembly kinetics in bulk studies. In the present review, we discuss recent studies utilizing techniques based on single-molecule detection that have helped overcome this challenge. These studies focus on the assembly dynamics and splicing kinetics in real-time, which help understanding of spliceosomal assembly and catalysis.

Leucine periodicity of U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (snRNP) A' protein is implicated in snRNP assembly via protein-protein interactions

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1578-1589
Author(s):  
L D Fresco ◽  
D S Harper ◽  
J D Keene
Keyword(s):  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Leucine Zipper ◽  
Tandem Repeats ◽  
Mutational Analysis ◽  
Particle Density ◽  
Protein Protein Interactions ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein

Recombinant A' protein could be reconstituted into U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs) upon addition to HeLa cell extracts as determined by coimmunoprecipitation and particle density; however, direct binding to U2 RNA could not be demonstrated except in the presence of the U2 snRNP B" protein. Mutational analysis indicated that a central core region of A' was required for particle reconstitution. This region consists of five tandem repeats of approximately 24 amino acids each that exhibit a periodicity of leucine and asparagine residues that is distinct from the leucine zipper. Similar leucine-rich (Leu-Leu motif) repeats are characteristic of a diverse array of soluble and membrane-associated proteins from yeasts to humans but have not been reported previously to reside in nuclear proteins. Several of these proteins, including Toll, chaoptin, RNase/angiogenin inhibitors, lutropin-choriogonadotropin receptor, carboxypeptidase N, adenylyl cyclase, CD14, and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Rev, may be involved in protein-protein interactions. Our findings suggest that in cell extracts the Leu-Leu motif of A' is required for reconstitution with U2 snRNPs and perhaps with other components involved in splicing through protein-protein interactions.

scholarly journals Structurally related but functionally distinct yeast Sm D core small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle proteins.

1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 445-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Roy ◽  
B Zheng ◽  
B C Rymond ◽  
J L Woolford
Keyword(s):  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Mrna Splicing ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Ribonucleoprotein Particle ◽  
Sm Proteins ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Snrnp Protein ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Precursor Mrna

Spliceosome assembly during pre-mRNA splicing requires the correct positioning of the U1, U2, U4/U6, and U5 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs) on the precursor mRNA. The structure and integrity of these snRNPs are maintained in part by the association of the snRNAs with core snRNP (Sm) proteins. The Sm proteins also play a pivotal role in metazoan snRNP biogenesis. We have characterized a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, SMD3, that encodes the core snRNP protein Smd3. The Smd3 protein is required for pre-mRNA splicing in vivo. Depletion of this protein from yeast cells affects the levels of U snRNAs and their cap modification, indicating that Smd3 is required for snRNP biogenesis. Smd3 is structurally and functionally distinct from the previously described yeast core polypeptide Smd1. Although Smd3 and Smd1 are both associated with the spliceosomal snRNPs, overexpression of one cannot compensate for the loss of the other. Thus, these two proteins have distinct functions. A pool of Smd3 exists in the yeast cytoplasm. This is consistent with the possibility that snRNP assembly in S. cerevisiae, as in metazoans, is initiated in the cytoplasm from a pool of RNA-free core snRNP protein complexes.

scholarly journals Leucine periodicity of U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (snRNP) A' protein is implicated in snRNP assembly via protein-protein interactions.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1578-1589 ◽  
Author(s):  
L D Fresco ◽  
D S Harper ◽  
J D Keene
Keyword(s):  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Leucine Zipper ◽  
Tandem Repeats ◽  
Mutational Analysis ◽  
Particle Density ◽  
Protein Protein Interactions ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein

Recombinant A' protein could be reconstituted into U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs) upon addition to HeLa cell extracts as determined by coimmunoprecipitation and particle density; however, direct binding to U2 RNA could not be demonstrated except in the presence of the U2 snRNP B" protein. Mutational analysis indicated that a central core region of A' was required for particle reconstitution. This region consists of five tandem repeats of approximately 24 amino acids each that exhibit a periodicity of leucine and asparagine residues that is distinct from the leucine zipper. Similar leucine-rich (Leu-Leu motif) repeats are characteristic of a diverse array of soluble and membrane-associated proteins from yeasts to humans but have not been reported previously to reside in nuclear proteins. Several of these proteins, including Toll, chaoptin, RNase/angiogenin inhibitors, lutropin-choriogonadotropin receptor, carboxypeptidase N, adenylyl cyclase, CD14, and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Rev, may be involved in protein-protein interactions. Our findings suggest that in cell extracts the Leu-Leu motif of A' is required for reconstitution with U2 snRNPs and perhaps with other components involved in splicing through protein-protein interactions.

A U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle with altered specificity induces alternative splicing of an adenovirus E1A mRNA precursor

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 3429-3437
Author(s):  
C Y Yuo ◽  
A M Weiner
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Splicing ◽  
Splice Site ◽  
Nuclear Accumulation ◽  
Beta Globin ◽  
Globin Mrna ◽  
Intended Target ◽  
Adenovirus E1a ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Mrna Precursor

We have altered the specificity of U1 small nuclear RNA by replacing its 5' splice site recognition sequence (nucleotides 3 to 11) with sequences complementary to other regions of either the adenovirus E1A or the rabbit beta-globin mRNA precursor. We then used a HeLa cell transient expression assay to test whether such altered U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs) could interfere with splicing of the targeted mRNA precursors. The altered U1 snRNPs were able to cause novel splicing of the E1A mRNA precursor, minor changes in the ratio of E1A 12 to 13S mRNAs, and modest nuclear accumulation of beta-globin mRNA precursors with either one of the two introns removed. Most of the altered U1 snRNPs did not affect the level of mature cytoplasmic mRNA significantly, but in one case an altered U1 snRNP (alpha 1) whose intended target was located downstream from the adenovirus E1A 12S 5' splice site was able to reduce the level of cytoplasmic 12S mRNA by approximately 60% and that of 13S mRNA by 90%. This alpha 1 snRNP induced an additional E1A splice, resulting in the appearance of 10 and 11S E1A mRNAs normally found only late in adenovirus infection. Thus, a trans-acting factor can induce alternative splicing. Surprisingly, the effects of alpha 1 on E1A splicing were not abolished by deleting the intended target sequence on the mRNA precursor.

scholarly journals Dramatically reduced spliceosome in Cyanidioschyzon merolae

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. E1191-E1200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha R. Stark ◽  
Elizabeth A. Dunn ◽  
William S. C. Dunn ◽  
Cameron J. Grisdale ◽  
Anthony R. Daniele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Red Alga ◽  
Mrna Splicing ◽  
Splicing Factors ◽  
Cyanidioschyzon Merolae ◽  
Ribonucleoprotein Particle ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
U1 Snrna ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Compositional Variability ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein

The human spliceosome is a large ribonucleoprotein complex that catalyzes pre-mRNA splicing. It consists of five snRNAs and more than 200 proteins. Because of this complexity, much work has focused on the Saccharomyces cerevisiae spliceosome, viewed as a highly simplified system with fewer than half as many splicing factors as humans. Nevertheless, it has been difficult to ascribe a mechanistic function to individual splicing factors or even to discern which are critical for catalyzing the splicing reaction. We have identified and characterized the splicing machinery from the red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae, which has been reported to harbor only 26 intron-containing genes. The U2, U4, U5, and U6 snRNAs contain expected conserved sequences and have the ability to adopt secondary structures and form intermolecular base-pairing interactions, as in other organisms. C. merolae has a highly reduced set of 43 identifiable core splicing proteins, compared with ∼90 in budding yeast and ∼140 in humans. Strikingly, we have been unable to find a U1 snRNA candidate or any predicted U1-associated proteins, suggesting that splicing in C. merolae may occur without the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle. In addition, based on mapping the identified proteins onto the known splicing cycle, we propose that there is far less compositional variability during splicing in C. merolae than in other organisms. The observed reduction in splicing factors is consistent with the elimination of spliceosomal components that play a peripheral or modulatory role in splicing, presumably retaining those with a more central role in organization and catalysis.

scholarly journals Comprehensive database and evolutionary dynamics of U12-type introns

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devlin C Moyer ◽  
Graham E Larue ◽  
Courtney E Hershberger ◽  
Scott W Roy ◽  
Richard A Padgett
Keyword(s):  
Rna Splicing ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Messenger Rnas ◽  
Spliceosomal Introns ◽  
Conversion Model ◽  
Nuclear Maturation ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Non Coding Rnas ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein

Abstract During nuclear maturation of most eukaryotic pre-messenger RNAs and long non-coding RNAs, introns are removed through the process of RNA splicing. Different classes of introns are excised by the U2-type or the U12-type spliceosomes, large complexes of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles and associated proteins. We created intronIC, a program for assigning intron class to all introns in a given genome, and used it on 24 eukaryotic genomes to create the Intron Annotation and Orthology Database (IAOD). We then used the data in the IAOD to revisit several hypotheses concerning the evolution of the two classes of spliceosomal introns, finding support for the class conversion model explaining the low abundance of U12-type introns in modern genomes.

scholarly journals Insertion of part of an intron into the 5' untranslated region of a Caenorhabditis elegans gene converts it into a trans-spliced gene.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1921-1926 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Conrad ◽  
J Thomas ◽  
J Spieth ◽  
T Blumenthal
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Splice Site ◽  
Untranslated Region ◽  
Fusion Gene ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Altered Gene ◽  
Intron Removal ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Mrna Precursor

In nematodes, the RNA products of some genes are trans-spliced to a 22-nucleotide spliced leader (SL), while the RNA products of other genes are not. In Caenorhabditis elegans, there are two SLs, SL1 and SL2, donated by two distinct small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles in a process functionally quite similar to nuclear intron removal. We demonstrate here that it is possible to convert a non-trans-spliced gene into a trans-spliced gene by placement of an intron missing only the 5' splice site into the 5' untranslated region. Stable transgenic strains were isolated expressing a gene in which 69 nucleotides of a vit-5 intron, including the 3' splice site, were inserted into the 5' untranslated region of a vit-2/vit-6 fusion gene. The RNA product of this gene was examined by primer extension and PCR amplification. Although the vit-2/vit-6 transgene product is not normally trans-spliced, the majority of transcripts from this altered gene were trans-spliced to SL1. We termed the region of a trans-spliced mRNA precursor between the 5' end and the first 3' splice site an "outron." Our results suggest that if a transcript begins with intronlike sequence followed by a 3' splice site, this alone may constitute an outron and be sufficient to demarcate a transcript as a trans-splice acceptor. These findings leave open the possibility that specific sequences are required to increase the efficiency of trans-splicing.

scholarly journals A specific 31-nucleotide domain of U1 RNA directly interacts with the 70K small nuclear ribonucleoprotein component.

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 4872-4881 ◽  
Author(s):  
C C Query ◽  
R C Bentley ◽  
J D Keene
Keyword(s):  
Nucleotide Sequence ◽  
Splice Site ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Specific Domain ◽  
Stem Loop ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein

We have defined the nucleotide sequence of a protein-binding domain within U1 RNA that specifically recognizes and binds both to a U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein component (the 70K protein) and to the previously defined RNA-binding domain of the 70K protein. We have investigated direct interactions between purified U1 RNA and 70K protein by reconstitution in vitro. Thirty-one nucleotides of U1 RNA, corresponding to stem-loop I, were required for this interaction. Nucleotides at the 5' end of U1 RNA that are involved in base pairing with the 5' splice site of pre-mRNA were not required for binding. In contrast to other reports, these findings demonstrate that a specific domain of U1 RNA can bind directly to the 70K protein independently of any other snRNP-associated proteins.

Roles of the U5 snRNP in spliceosome dynamics and catalysis

2004 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 928-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.A. Turner ◽  
C.M. Norman ◽  
M.J. Churcher ◽  
A.J. Newman
Keyword(s):  
Mrna Splicing ◽  
Small Nuclear Rna ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Gene Transcripts ◽  
Protein Components ◽  
Intron Removal ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein

Most protein-coding genes in eukaryotes are interrupted by non-coding intervening sequences (introns), which must be precisely removed from primary gene transcripts (pre-mRNAs) before translation of the message into protein. Intron removal by pre-mRNA splicing occurs in the nucleus and is catalysed by complex ribonucleoprotein machines called spliceosomes. These molecular machines consist of several small nuclear RNA molecules and their associated proteins [together termed snRNP (small nuclear ribonucleoprotein) particles], plus multiple accessory factors. Of particular interest are the U2, U5 and U6 snRNPs, which play crucial roles in the catalytic steps of splicing. In the present review, we summarize our current understanding of the role played by the protein components of the U5 snRNP in pre-mRNA splicing, which include some of the largest and most highly conserved nuclear proteins.

scholarly journals The U1 RNA-binding site of the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP)-associated A protein suggests a similarity with U2 snRNPs.

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 2975-2982 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Lutz-Freyermuth ◽  
J D Keene ◽  
C Lutz-Reyermuth
Keyword(s):  
Binding Site ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Binding Assays ◽  
Stem Loop ◽  
Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein ◽  
Vitro Binding ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein

The site of interaction between human U1 RNA and one of its uniquely associated proteins, A, was examined with in vitro binding assays. The A protein bound directly to stem-loop II of U1 RNA in a region which exhibits sequence similarity to U2 RNA. The similarity with U2 RNA was in a region that has been shown to interact with a U2 RNA-associated protein. The A protein-binding site on U1 RNA overlapped a previously described epitope for an RNA-specific human autoantibody (S. L. Deutscher and J. D. Keene, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:3299-3303, 1988), supporting the hypothesis that the anti-RNA antibody originated as an anti-idiotypic response to A protein-specific autoantibodies.

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