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Exploring Sequence Space to Identify Binding Sites for Regulatory RNA-Binding Proteins
Published on: August 9, 2019
Genetic interactions between the 5' and 3' splice site consensus sequences and U6 snRNA during the second catalytic
1Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA.
Abstract:
The YAG/ consensus sequence at the 3' end of introns (the slash indicates the location of the 3' splice site) is essential for catalysis of the second step of pre-mRNA splicing. Little is known about the interactions formed by these three nucleotides in the spliceosome. Although previous observations have suggested that the G of the YAG/ interacts with the first nucleotide of the /GUA consensus sequence at the 5' end of the intron, additional interactions have not been identified. Here we report several striking genetic interactions between A+3 of the 5' /GUA with Y-3 of the 3' YAG/ and G50 of the highly conserved ACAGAG motif in U6 snRNA. Two mutations in U6 G50 of the ACAGAG can weakly suppress two mutations in A+3 of the 5' /GUA. This suppression is significantly enhanced upon the inclusion of a specific mutation Y-3 in the 3' YAG/. RNA analysis confirmed that the severe splicing defect observed in A+3 and Y-3 double mutants can be rescued to near wild-type levels by the mutations in U6 G50. The contributions of each mutation to the genetic interaction and the strong position specificity of suppression, combined with previous findings, support a model in which the 5' /GUA and the GAG of U6 function in binding the 3' YAG/ during the second catalytic step.
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