Nucleic Acids Research, Vol 26, Issue 18 4137-4145, Copyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press
D Castanotto and JJ Rossi
In pre-mRNA splicing, specific spliceosomal components recognize key intron
sequences, but the mechanisms by which splice sites are selected arenot
completely understood. In the Saccharomyces cerevisiae actin intron a
silent branch point-like sequence (UACUAAG) is located 7 nt upstream of the
canonical sequence. Mutation of the canonicalUACUAAC sequence to UAAUAAC
reduces utilization of this signal and activates the cryptic UACUAAG.
Splicing-dependent beta-galactosidase assays have shown that these two
splice signals cooperate to enhance splicing. Analyses of several variants
of this double branch point intron demonstrate that the upstream UACUAAG
sequence significantly increases usage of the UAAUAAC as a site of lariat
formation. This activation is sequence-specific and unidirectional. However
the ability of the UACUAAG signal to activate the downstream branch point
is dependent on the presence of a short non-conserved sequence located a
few nucleotides upstream of the UACUAAG. Mutation of this sequence leads to
the disappearance of the cooperative interactions between the two branch
signals. Our results show that this non-conserved sequence and the UACUAAG
signal must both be present to achieve activation of the downstream branch
point and suggest that a specific structure may be necessary to allow
efficient recognition of the UAAUAAC.
ARTICLES
Cooperative interaction of branch signals in the actin intron of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Molecular Biology Department, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, 1450 East Duarte Road, Duarte, CA 91010, USA.
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