title: The yeast PRP8 protein interacts directly with pre-mRNA.
abstract: The PRP8 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is required for nuclear pre-mRNA splicing. Previously, immunological procedures demonstrated that PRP8 is a protein component of the U5 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (U5 snRNP), and that PRP8 protein maintains a stable association with the spliceosome during both step 1 and step 2 of the splicing reaction. We have combined immunological analysis with a UV-crosslinking assay to investigate interaction(s) of PRP8 protein with pre-mRNA. We show that PRP8 protein interacts directly with splicing substrate RNA during in vitro splicing reactions. This contact event is splicing-specific in that it is ATP-dependent, and does not occur with mutant RNAs that contain 5' splice site or branchpoint mutations. The use of truncated RNA substrates demonstrated that the assembly of PRP8 protein into splicing complexes is not, by itself, sufficient for the direct interaction with the RNA; PRP8 protein only becomes UV-crosslinked to RNA substrates capable of participating in step 1 of the splicing reaction. We propose that PRP8 protein may play an important structural and/or regulatory role in the spliceosome.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Whittaker
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Beggs
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000378:metabolism*; D012326:RNA Splicing; D012331:RNA, Fungal / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000378:metabolism*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D012322:RNA Precursors; D012331:RNA, Fungal; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins