Maternal mRNA from clam oocytes can be specifically unmasked in vitro by antisense RNA complementary to the 3'-untranslated region.
Clam oocytes display a striking difference in the pattern of protein synthesis on fertilization, which is maintained when cell-free extracts are assayed in the rabbit reticulocyte lysate. The mRNAs encoding ribonucleotide reductase and cyclin A (the major masked messages in the oocyte extracts) can be translationally activated by gel filtration in 0.5 M KCl, presumably by removal of repressor protein(s). When synthetic RNAs corresponding to different segments of ribonucleotide reductase and cyclin A mRNAs were added to oocyte extracts in 0.5 M KCl in a "competitive unmasking" assay, specific and complete unmasking of these mRNAs occurred on addition of antisense 3'-noncoding transcripts. The unmasking region in ribonucleotide reductase mRNA maps to a region of 134 nucleotides centered one-third of the way down the 3'-noncoding region.
Standart
N
N
Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, UK.
Dale
M
M
Stewart
E
E
Hunt
T
T
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000235:genetics*; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D016213:Cyclins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007438:Introns; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D016372:RNA, Antisense / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012264:Ribonucleotide Reductases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D016213:Cyclins; D016372:RNA, Antisense; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D012264:Ribonucleotide Reductases