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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

ACT1-CUP1 Assays Determine the Substrate-Specific Sensitivities of Spliceosomal Mutants in Budding Yeast
Published on: June 30, 2022
Interplay between SRPK and Clk/Sty kinases in phosphorylation of the splicing factor ASF/SF2 is regulated by a
Jacky Chi Ki Ngo1, Sutapa Chakrabarti, Jian-Hua Ding
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Abstract:
The arginine-serine (RS)-rich domain of the SR protein ASF/SF2 is phosphorylated by SR protein kinases (SRPKs) and Clk/Sty kinases. However, the mode of phosphorylation by these kinases and their coordination in the biological regulation of ASF/SF2 is unknown. Here, we report the crystal structure of an active fragment of human SRPK1 bound to a peptide derived from an SR protein. This structure led us to identify a docking motif in ASF/SF2. We find that this docking motif restricts phosphorylation of ASF/SF2 by SRPK1 to the N-terminal part of the RS domain - a property essential for its assembly into nuclear speckles. We further show that Clk/Sty causes release of ASF/SF2 from speckles by phosphorylating the C-terminal part of its RS domain. These results suggest that the docking motif of ASF/SF2 is a key regulatory element for sequential phosphorylation by SRPK1 and Clk/Sty and, thus, is essential for its subcellular localization.
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