A candidate U1 small nuclear RNA for trypanosomatid protozoa

Murray N. Schnare, Michael W. Gray

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In trypanosomatid protozoa, all mRNAs obtain identical 5'-ends by trans- splicing of the 5'-terminal 39 nucleotides of a small spliced leader RNA to appropriate acceptor sites in pre-mRNA. Although this process involves spliceosomal small nuclear (sn) RNAs, it is thought that trypanosomatids do not contain a homolog of the cis-spliceosomal U1 snRNA. We show here that a trypanosomatid protozoon, Crithidia fasciculata, contains a novel small RNA that displays several features characteristic of a U1 snRNA, including (i) a methylguanosine cap and additional 5'-terminal modifications, (ii) a potential binding site for common core proteins that are present in other trans-spliceosomal ribonucleoproteins, (iii) a U1-like 5'-terminal sequence, and (iv) a U1-like stem/loop I structure. Because trypanosomatid pre-mRNAs do not appear to contain cis-spliced introns, we argue that this previously unrecognized RNA species is a good candidate to be a trans-spliceosomal U1 snRNA.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)23691-23694
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume274
Issue number34
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 20 1999

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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