Comparison of transfer RNA and ribosomal RNA intron splicing in the extreme thermophile and archaebacterium Desulfurococcus mobilis.
The structure of the exon-intron boundary was compared for an intron within 23S ribosomal RNA of Desulfurococcus mobilis and a newly discovered intron in tRNA(Met) from the same organism. The occurrence of a putative common structural feature suggests that intron excision occurs by the same mechanism. The possible recognition of this structural feature by the cleavage enzyme was investigated for the ribosomal RNA intron using RNA substrates exhibiting various exon and intron deletions. The results support the involvement of the structural features in the cleavage process. The evolutionary implications of these results are considered.
Kjems
J
J
Biostructural Chemistry, Kemisk Institut, Aarhus Universitet, Denmark.
Jensen
J
J
Olesen
T
T
Garrett
R A
RA
D001105:Archaea / Q000235:genetics*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D007438:Introns; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000235:genetics; D012326:RNA Splicing; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S / Q000235:genetics; D012358:RNA, Transfer, Met / Q000235:genetics
D012322:RNA Precursors; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S; D012358:RNA, Transfer, Met