A day in the life of the spliceosome.
One of the most amazing findings in molecular biology was the discovery that eukaryotic genes are discontinuous, with coding DNA being interrupted by stretches of non-coding sequence. The subsequent realization that the intervening regions are removed from pre-mRNA transcripts via the activity of a common set of small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs), which assemble together with associated proteins into a complex known as the spliceosome, was equally surprising. How do cells coordinate the assembly of this molecular machine? And how does the spliceosome accurately recognize exons and introns to carry out the splicing reaction? Insights into these questions have been gained by studying the life cycle of spliceosomal snRNAs from their transcription, nuclear export and re-import to their dynamic assembly into the spliceosome. This assembly process can also affect the regulation of alternative splicing and has implications for human disease.
Department of Biology, Department of Genetics and Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.
A Gregory
AG
Matera
Department of Pharmacology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.
Zefeng
Z
Wang
D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics*; D005091:Exons; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D017381:Spliceosomes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*
D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D012322:RNA Precursors; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear