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The splicing of maize transposable elements from pre-mRNA--a minireview
1Botany Department, University of Georgia, Athens 30602.
Gene
|October 15, 1989
Summary
Six maize transposable elements, like Ac/Ds and Spm/dSpm, are spliced from pre-mRNA, acting as new introns. These elements show how active transposons can become stable introns in nuclear genes.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Plant Science
Background:
- Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile genetic sequences within genomes.
- Introns are non-coding sequences removed from pre-mRNA during splicing.
- The recent evolution of introns in nuclear genes is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize maize transposable elements that function as introns.
- To investigate the structural and sequence features of these novel element-introns.
- To explore the potential evolutionary pathway of active TEs into stable introns.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of pre-mRNA splicing in maize.
- Identification of transposable elements within introns.
- Sequence analysis of element-introns and their flanking regions.
Main Results:
- Six examples of maize transposable elements (Ac/Ds and Spm/dSpm families) were found to be spliced from pre-mRNA.
- These elements were recently inserted into exons of active genes (within the last 25 years).
- The structural and sequence characteristics enabling their splicing as introns were determined.
Conclusions:
- Active transposable elements can acquire intron function.
- These element-introns represent recent additions to maize nuclear genes.
- TEs may evolve into stable, integrated introns over time.