title: Determinants in mammalian telomerase RNA that mediate enzyme processivity and cross-species incompatibility.
abstract: Telomerase contains two essential components: an RNA molecule that templates telomeric repeat synthesis and a catalytic protein component. Human telomerase is processive, while the mouse enzyme has much lower processivity. We have identified nucleotide determinants in the telomerase RNA that are responsible for this difference in processivity. Mutations adjacent to the template region of human and mouse telomerase RNA significantly altered telomerase processivity both in vitro and in vivo. We also identified functionally important nucleotides in the pseudoknot domain of telomerase RNA that potentially mediate the incompatibility between human TERT and mouse telomerase RNA. These experiments identify essential residues of the telomerase RNA that regulate telomerase activity and processivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. cgreider@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Jiunn-Liang
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Carol W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Greider
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009154:Mutation; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009711:Nucleotides / Q000378:metabolism*; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013698:Templates, Genetic
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009711:Nucleotides; C422952:telomerase RNA; D012313:RNA; C509186:TERT protein, human; D019098:Telomerase; C509187:Tert protein, mouse