Functional reconstitution of U6 snRNA in nematode cis- and trans-splicing: U6 can serve as both a branch acceptor and a 5' exon.
Maturation of nuclear pre-mRNAs in nematodes requires both cis- and trans-splicing. Both processing pathways involve analogous two-step phosphotransfer reactions and both are dependent upon the integrity of U6 snRNA. We have developed a functional reconstitution assay to assess the U6 snRNA sequence requirements for cis- and trans-splicing. Branch formation between the splicing substrates and U6 snRNA was observed. The frequency of this event was greatly enhanced when a highly conserved sequence in U6 snRNA was altered by mutation. In cis- and trans-splicing reactions reconstituted with this mutant U6 snRNA the liberated exon of U6 proceeded through the second step of splicing using the appropriate splice acceptor sites. These results demonstrate covalent interactions between a U snRNA required for splicing and a splicing substrate, and they provide evidence for an unexpected degree of catalytic flexibility within the spliceosome.
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Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.
Maroney
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Nilsen
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D000818:Animals; D001200:Ascaris / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D001482:Base Composition; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005091:Exons; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D012326:RNA Splicing; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017381:Spliceosomes / Q000378:metabolism
D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear