title: Identification of new Xlsirt family members in the Xenopus laevis oocyte.
abstract: Xenopus laevis short interspersed repeat transcripts (Xlsirts) are a family of noncoding RNAs defined by the presence of a specific repeated sequence that acts as a vegetal localization element. Previous studies have demonstrated that Xlsirts function as localization elements to localize RNA and also in anchoring mRNA at the vegetal cortex. However, the identity of the Xlsirts containing family members present at the cortex was unknown. We identified 17 new Xlsirt cDNAs from an oocyte cDNA library. In addition to being associated with noncoding sequences, the repeats were also present in cDNAs with open reading frames. Xlsirt RNAs with repeats in the correct orientation were capable of localizing to the vegetal cortex. Our observations demonstrate that a heterogeneous population of Xlsirt RNAs is present at the cortex and that this population contains both noncoding RNAs and RNAs encoding proteins that are likely to play important roles in the subsequent development of the embryo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: N Ruth
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Zearfoss
authors.forename: Agnes P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kloc
authors.forename: Luetta H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Laurence D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Etkin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D015723:Gene Library; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010957:Plasmids / Q000378:metabolism; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020086:Short Interspersed Nucleotide Elements; D014981:Xenopus; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012313:RNA