Imprecise excision of the Caenorhabditis elegans transposon Tc1 creates functional 5' splice sites.

Imprecise excision of the Caenorhabditis elegans transposon Tc1 from a specific site of insertion within the unc-54 myosin heavy chain gene generates either wild-type or partial phenotypic revertants. Wild-type revertants and one class of partial revertants contain insertions of four nucleotides in the unc-54 third exon (Tc1 "footprints"). Such revertants express large amounts of functional unc-54 myosin despite having what would appear to be frameshifting insertions in the unc-54 third exon. We demonstrate that these Tc1 footprints act as efficient 5' splice sites for removal of the unc-54 third intron. Splicing of these new 5' splice sites to the normal third intron splice acceptor removes the Tc1 footprint from the mature mRNA and restores the normal translational reading frame. Partial revertant unc-54(r661), which contains a single nucleotide substitution relative to the wild-type gene, is spliced similarly, except that the use of its new 5' splice site creates a frameshift in the mature mRNA rather than removing one. In all of these revertants, two alternative 5' splice sites are available to remove intron 3. We determined the relative efficiency with which each alternative 5' splice site is used by stabilizing frameshifted mRNAs with smg(-) genetic backgrounds. In all cases, the upstream member of the two alternative sites is used preferentially (> 75% utilization). This may reflect an inherent preference of the splicing machinery for the upstream member of two closely spaced 5' splice sites. Creation of new 5' splice sites may be a general characteristic of Tc1 insertion and excision events.

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Splicing removes the Caenorhabditis elegans transposon Tc1 from most mutant pre-mRNAs.

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.16.1.422 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 422-429 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

A M Rushforth ◽

P Anderson

Keyword(s):

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Negative Selection ◽

Target Gene ◽

Mrna Processing ◽

Chain Gene ◽

Splice Sites ◽

Heavy Chain Gene ◽

Myosin Heavy Chain Gene ◽

Mature Mrna

The transposable element Tc1 is responsible for most spontaneous mutations that occur in many Caenorhabditis elegans strains. We analyzed the abundance and sequence of mRNAs expressed from five different Tc1 insertions within either hlh-1 (a MyoD homolog) or unc-54 (a myosin heavy chain gene). Each of the mutants expresses substantial quantities of mature mRNA in which most or all of Tc1 has been removed by splicing. Such mRNAs contain small insertions of Tc1 sequences and/or deletions of target gene sequences at the resulting spliced junctions. Most of these mutant mRNAs do not contain premature stop codons, and many are translated in frame to produce proteins that are functional in vivo. The number and variety of splice sites used to remove Tc1 from these mutant pre-mRNAs are remarkable. Two-thirds of the Tc1-containing introns removed from hlh-1 and unc-54 lack either the 5'-GU or AG-3' dinucleotides typically found at the termini of eukaryotic introns. We conclude that splicing to remove Tc1 from mutant pre-mRNAs allows many Tc1 insertions to be phenotypically silent. Such mRNA processing may help Tc1 escape negative selection.

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The Allele-Specific Suppressor sup-39 Alters Use of Cryptic Splice Sites in Caenorhabditis elegans

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/154.3.1169 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 154 (3) ◽

pp. 1169-1179

Author(s):

A Brock Roller ◽

David C Hoffman ◽

Alan M Zahler

Keyword(s):

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Splice Site ◽

Consensus Sequence ◽

Splice Junction ◽

Splice Sites ◽

Wild Type ◽

Splice Donor ◽

Nonsense Mediated Decay ◽

Allele Specific ◽

Cryptic Splice Sites

Abstract Mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans sup-39 gene cause allele-specific suppression of the uncoordination defect of unc-73(e936). e936 is a point mutation that changes the canonical G at the 5′ end of intron 16 to a U. This mutation activates three splice donors, two of which define introns beginning with the canonical GU. Use of these two cryptic splice sites causes loss of reading frame; interestingly these messages are not substrates for nonsense-mediated decay. The third splice donor, used in 10% of steady-state e936 messages, is the mutated splice donor at the wild-type position, which defines an intron beginning with UU. In the presence of a sup-39 mutation, these same three splice donors are used, but the ratio of messages produced by splicing at these sites changes. The percentage of unc-73(e936) messages containing the wild-type splice junction is increased to 33% with a corresponding increase in the level of UNC-73 protein. This sup-39-induced change was also observed when the e936 mutant intron region was inserted into a heterologous splicing reporter construct transfected into worms. Experiments with splicing reporter constructs showed that the degree of 5′ splice site match to the splicing consensus sequence can strongly influence cryptic splice site choice. We propose that mutant SUP-39 is a new type of informational suppressor that alters the use of weak splice donors.

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Insertion and excision of Caenorhabditis elegans transposable element Tc1

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.8.2.737-746.1988 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 737-746

Author(s):

D Eide ◽

P Anderson

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Transposable Element ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Germ Line ◽

Consensus Sequence ◽

Somatic Cells ◽

Chain Gene ◽

Imprecise Excision ◽

Insertion Sites

The transposable element Tc1 is responsible for most spontaneous mutations that occur in Caenorhabditis elegans variety Bergerac. We investigated the genetic and molecular properties of Tc1 transposition and excision. We show that Tc1 insertion into the unc-54 myosin heavy-chain gene was strongly site specific. The DNA sequences of independent Tc1 insertion sites were similar to each other, and we present a consensus sequence for Tc1 insertion that describes these similarities. We show that Tc1 excision was usually imprecise. Tc1 excision was imprecise in both germ line and somatic cells. Imprecise excision generated novel unc-54 alleles that had amino acid substitutions, amino acid insertions, and, in certain cases, probably altered mRNA splicing. The DNA sequences remaining after Tc1 somatic excision were the same as those remaining after germ line excision, but the frequency of somatic excision was at least 1,000-fold higher than that of germ line excision. The genetic properties of Tc1 excision, combined with the DNA sequences of the resulting unc-54 alleles, demonstrated that excision was dependent on Tc1 transposition functions in both germ line and somatic cells. Somatic excision was not regulated in the same strain-specific manner as germ-line excision was. In a genetic background where Tc1 transposition and excision in the germ line was not detectable, Tc1 excision in the soma still occurred at high frequency.

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Structures of spontaneous deletions in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.8.9.3748 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. 3748-3754 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

R A Pulak ◽

P Anderson

Keyword(s):

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Structural Features ◽

Chain Gene ◽

Wild Type ◽

Heavy Chain Gene ◽

Myosin Heavy Chain Gene ◽

Base Pairs ◽

Average Size ◽

Distinguishing Features ◽

Small Average Size

We have investigated the structural features of spontaneous deletions in Caenorhabditis elegans. We cloned and sequenced the junctions of 16 spontaneous deletions affecting the unc-54 myosin heavy-chain gene and compared their sequences with those of the wild type. We analyzed these sequences in an attempt to identify structural features of the gene that are consistently involved in the spontaneous deletion process. Most deletions (15 of 16) removed a single contiguous region of DNA, with no nucleotides inserted or rearranged at the deletion junctions; one deletion was more complex. unc-54 deletions were small, averaging 600 base pairs in length, and were randomly distributed throughout the gene. Unlike deletions that occur in Escherichia coli, spontaneous unc-54 deletions did not contain statistically significant direct or inverted repeats at or near their termini. Except for their small average size, we have not identified any distinguishing features of their sequence or structure. We discuss these results with regard to the mechanisms for spontaneous deletion in eucaryotic and procaryotic cells.

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Site-selected insertion of the transposon Tc1 into a Caenorhabditis elegans myosin light chain gene.

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.13.2.902 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 902-910 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

A M Rushforth ◽

B Saari ◽

P Anderson

Keyword(s):

Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Light Chain ◽

Myosin Light Chain ◽

Null Alleles ◽

Chain Gene ◽

Splice Sites ◽

Chain Reaction ◽

Light Chain Gene ◽

Polymerase Chain

We used the polymerase chain reaction to detect insertions of the transposon Tc1 into mlc-2, one of two Caenorhabditis elegans regulatory myosin light chain genes. Our goals were to develop a general method to identify mutations in any sequenced gene and to establish the phenotype of mlc-2 loss-of-function mutants. The sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction allowed us to identify nematode populations containing rare Tc1 insertions into mcl-2. mlc-2::Tc1 mutants were subsequently isolated from these populations by a sib selection procedure. We isolated three mutants with Tc1 insertions within the mlc-2 third exon and a fourth strain with Tc1 inserted in nearby noncoding DNA. To demonstrate the generality of our procedure, we isolated two additional mutants with Tc1 insertions within hlh-1, the C. elegans MyoD homolog. All of these mutants are essentially wild type when homozygous. Despite the fact that certain of these mutants have Tc1 inserted within exons of the target gene, these mutations may not be true null alleles. All three of the mlc-2 mutants contain mlc-2 mRNA in which all or part of Tc1 is spliced from the pre-mRNA, leaving small in-frame insertions or deletions in the mature message. There is a remarkable plasticity in the sites used to splice Tc1 from these mlc-2 pre-mRNAs; certain splice sites used in the mutants are very different from typical eukaryotic splice sites.

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Characterization of a Novel Aberrant Splice Site, 79bp Downstream of Exon 5 in the Human Factor 7 Gene Detected in Patients with Severe Congenital Factor VII Deficiency.

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v114.22.3481.3481 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 114 (22) ◽

pp. 3481-3481

Author(s):

Karin Wulff ◽

Jan Astermark ◽

Falko F H Herrmann ◽

Günther Auerswald ◽

Winnie Schröder

Keyword(s):

Splice Site ◽

Donor Splice Site ◽

Aberrant Splice ◽

The Novel ◽

Splice Sites ◽

Wild Type ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Donor Splice ◽

Naturally Occurring ◽

Fvii Deficiency

Abstract Abstract 3481 Poster Board III-418 Hereditary FVII deficiency (FVIID) is a rare congenital bleeding disorder with an estimated prevalence of symptomatic individuals of 1:500,000. In the “Greifswald Registry FVII Deficiency” molecular defects of more than 1000 FVII deficient patients were described. By direct sequencing of the F7 genes in congenital FVIID revealed 146 different F7 gene mutations including 25 different mutations (18% of all) in the naturally-occurring acceptor or donor splice sites (Tab.1) were identified. In seven FVIID patients from Sweden and Germany the novel lesion g.IVS5+78G>A - downstream of the naturally-occurring donor splice sites of exon 5 - was identified. This variation was detected heterozygous in FVIID patients with FVII: C levels of 15%, 27%, 31%, 40% and 65%, and FVII: Ag levels between 25-50%. In two compound heterozygous patients with FVII: C levels of 1% und FVII: Ag levels of 2% and 3% respectively, one well-known causative FVII mutation is combined with the novel lesion g.IVS5+78G>A. The influence of this novel F7 gene variation on splicing was investigated by RT-PCR analysis and in vitro expression studies using exon-trap vector constructs. The total RNA was isolated from peripheral leucocytes and analyzed by one step RT-PCR and sequencing. Fragments of exon 5 and a part of the flanking intron 5 region (g.7679 –g.8073) were amplified of patients' DNA and cloned into the exon trap-vector pET01. Different vector constructs containing minigenes of the wild type (g.IVS5+78G) or mutant form (g.IVS5+78A) and the corresponding minigenes with an “optimized” naturally-occurring donor splice site in position +5 respectively were transfected into HEK293 cells. The expressed RNA was isolated and characterized. Consensus Values (CV) for all donor splice sites were calculated using a splice site detection tool according Shapiro and Senapathy (1987). The RT-PCR analysis in patients indicate that the novel variation g.IVS5+78G>A in intron 5 created an aberrant splice site in position 79bp downstream of exon 5 even though the naturally-occurring donor-splice-site of exon 5 is not abolished. An insertion of 79bp of intron 5 into the mRNA leads to a frame shift and predicts a premature termination 11 codons past the last unaltered codon. Minigenes include the naturally-occurring splice site and the variation g.IVS5+78A used exclusively the aberrant splice position 79bp downstream of exon 5 whereas wild type minigenes with the naturally-occurring splice site and the wild type form g.IVS5+78G produced normally spliced mRNA. In a following experiment the “naturally-occurring splice site” of exon 5 was optimized by the additional substitution g.IVS5+5C>G which increased their CV from 76.6 to 90.9 compared to the CV of the novel mutant g.IVS5+78A of 80.3. In presence of both mutations (g.IVS5+5G and g.IVS5+78A) only normal spliced mRNA was expressed of this minigene. In this construct the mutation g.IVS5+78G>A was without importance for the mRNA splicing. The results of the in vitro experiments demonstrated, that the Consensus Values (CV) seems to be an important factor for the selection of donor splice sites in the F7 gene. In the “Greifswald Registry FVII Deficiency” 26 different splice site variations in F7 gene were identified (Tab. 1). The atypical splice site variation g.IVS5+78G>A, +78bp downstream of exon 5 was present in 7 FVIID patients from Sweden and Germany in different genotypes. This novel F7 gene mutation g.IVS5+78G>A creates an aberrant splice site in position +79 of intron 5 and predicts premature termination. RNA analysis and expression studies demonstrated, that this novel F7 gene lesion is a type I mutation with low FVII:C and FVII: Ag levels and is the basis defect in 7 FVIID patients of the “Greifswald Registry FVII Deficiency”. Tab. 1 26 different intronic F7 gene mutations analysed in FVII deficiency patients of the “Greifswald Registry FVII Deficiency” Intron Acceptor splice site Intron Donor splice site 1b g.IVS1b-11G>A 1a g.IVS1a+5G>A 1b *g.IVS1b8del14bp 1a *g.IVS1a+6T>G 1b *g.IVS1b-3C>G 1a *g.IVS1a+8C>T 2 *g.IVS2-3C>G 2 g.IVS2+1G>A 3 g.IVS3-1G>A 2 *g.IVS2+1G>T 3 *g-IVS3-1G>T 2 *g.IVS2+1G>C 4 *g.IVS4-7T>G 2 *g.IVS2+1delG 7 *g.IVS7-10T>C 2 g.IVS2+5G>T 7 *g.IVS7-3C>G 3 *g.IVS3+1G>T 7 *g.IVS7-1G>A 4 g.IVS4+1G>A 5 *g.IVS5+78G>A 6 *g.IVS6+1G>A 6 g.IVS6+1G>T 6 *g.IVS6+3A>G 7 *g.IVS7+1G>A 7 g.IVS7+3_6 del4bp * novel mutations (HGMD Factor 7 Database, 2009 /http://www.hgmd.org) Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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Structures of spontaneous deletions in Caenorhabditis elegans

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.8.9.3748-3754.1988 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. 3748-3754

Author(s):

R A Pulak ◽

P Anderson

Keyword(s):

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Structural Features ◽

Chain Gene ◽

Wild Type ◽

Heavy Chain Gene ◽

Myosin Heavy Chain Gene ◽

Base Pairs ◽

Average Size ◽

Distinguishing Features ◽

Small Average Size

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Characterisation and quantification of F8 transcripts of ten putative splice site mutations

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1160/th14-06-0523 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 113 (03) ◽

pp. 585-592 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yeling Lu ◽

Yufeng Ruan ◽

Qiulan Ding ◽

Xuefeng Wang ◽

Xiaodong Xi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Splice Site ◽

Mrna Level ◽

Gene Mutations ◽

Exon Skipping ◽

Splice Sites ◽

Wild Type ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽

Fluorescent Pcr ◽

Cryptic Splice Sites

SummaryMutations affecting splice sites comprise approximately 7.5 % of the known F8 gene mutations but only a few were verified at mRNA level. In the present study, 10 putative splice site mutations were characterised by mRNA analysis using reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) and co-amplification fluorescent PCR were used in combination to quantify the amount of each of multiple F8 transcripts. All of the mutations resulted in aberrant splicing. One of them (c.6187+1del1) generated one form of F8 transcript with exon skipping, and the remaining nine mutations (c.602-6T>C, c.1752+5_1752+6insGTTAG, c.1903+5G>A, c.5219+3A>G, c.5586+3A>T, c.969A>T, c.265+4A>G, c.601+1_601+5del5 and c.1444-8_1444del9) produced multiple F8 transcripts with exon skipping, activation of cryptic splice site and/or normal splicing. Residual wild-type F8 transcripts were produced by the first six of the nine mutations with amounts of 3.9 %>, 14.2 %>, 5.2 %>, 19.2 %>, 1.8 °% and 2.5 %> of normal levels, respectively, which were basically consistent with coagulation phenotypes in the related patients. In comparison with the mRNA findings, software Alamut v2.3 had values in the prediction of pathogenic effects on native splice sites but was not reliable in the prediction of activation of cryptic splice sites. Our quantification of F8 transcripts may provide an alternative way to evaluate the low expression levels of residue wild-type F8 transcripts and help to explain the severity of haemophilia A caused by splicing site mutations.

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Three new dominant C1 suppressor alleles in Zea mays

Genetics Research ◽

10.1017/s0016672398003218 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 71 (2) ◽

pp. 127-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

TATJANA SINGER ◽

ALFONS GIERL ◽

PETER A. PETERSON

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Transcriptional Activation ◽

Stop Codon ◽

Suppressive Effect ◽

Wild Type ◽

Activation Domain ◽

Reading Frame ◽

Transcriptional Activation Domain ◽

Imprecise Excision ◽

Carboxy Terminal

Three new dominant suppressor mutations of the C1 transcription regulator gene in maize – C1-IΔ1, C1-IΔ2 and C1-IΔ3 – are described that suppress anthocyanin colouration in kernels similar to the function of the C1-I standard inhibitor. The C1-IΔ mutations were induced by imprecise excision of an En/Spm transposon in the third exon of the C1 gene. These transposon footprints cause a frameshift in the C1 open reading frame that leads to truncated proteins due to an early stop codon 30 amino acids upstream of the wild-type C1 protein. Therefore, the C1-IΔ gene products lack the carboxy-terminal transcriptional activation domain of C1. The C1-I standard allele also lacks this domain and in addition differs in 17 amino acids from the wild-type C1 allele. The new C1-IΔ alleles provide evidence that deletion of the carboxy-terminal activation domain alone is sufficient to generate a dominant suppressive effect on the function of wild-type C1.

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Latency-Associated Transcript (LAT) Exon 1 Controls Herpes Simplex Virus Species-Specific Phenotypes: Reactivation in the Guinea Pig Genital Model and Neuron Subtype-Specific Latent Expression of LAT

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.00559-09 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 83 (19) ◽

pp. 10007-10015 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Andrea S. Bertke ◽

Amita Patel ◽

Yumi Imai ◽

Kathleen Apakupakul ◽

Todd P. Margolis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Herpes Simplex Virus ◽

Herpes Simplex ◽

Guinea Pig ◽

Splice Site ◽

Wild Type ◽

Intron Splice ◽

Exon 1 ◽

Species Specific ◽

Simplex Virus ◽

Hsv 1

ABSTRACT Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 cause similar acute infections but differ in their abilities to reactivate from trigeminal and lumbosacral dorsal root ganglia. During latency, HSV-1 and HSV-2 also preferentially express their latency-associated transcripts (LATs) in different sensory neuronal subtypes that are positive for A5 and KH10 markers, respectively. Chimeric virus studies showed that LAT region sequences influence both of these viral species-specific phenotypes. To further map the LAT region sequences responsible for these phenotypes, we constructed the chimeric virus HSV2-LAT-E1, in which exon 1 (from the LAT TATA to the intron splice site) was replaced by the corresponding sequence from HSV-1 LAT. In intravaginally infected guinea pigs, HSV2-LAT-E1 reactivated inefficiently relative to the efficiency of its rescuant and wild-type HSV-2, but it yielded similar levels of viral DNA, LAT, and ICP0 during acute and latent infection. HSV2-LAT-E1 preferentially expressed the LAT in A5+ neurons (as does HSV-1), while the chimeric viruses HSV2-LAT-P1 (LAT promoter swap) and HSV2-LAT-S1 (LAT sequence swap downstream of the promoter) exhibited neuron subtype-specific latent LAT expression phenotypes more similar to that of HSV-2 than that of HSV-1. Rescuant viruses displayed the wild-type HSV-2 phenotypes of efficient reactivation in the guinea pig genital model and a tendency to express LAT in KH10+ neurons. The region that is critical for HSV species-specific differences in latency and reactivation thus lies between the LAT TATA and the intron splice site, and minor differences in the 5′ ends of chimeric sequences in HSV2-LAT-E1 and HSV2-LAT-S1 point to sequences immediately downstream of the LAT TATA.

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