In vitro cleavage of the simian virus 40 early polyadenylation site adjacent to a required downstream TG sequence

Exogenous RNA containing the simian virus 40 early polyadenylation site was efficiently and accurately polyadenylated in in vitro nuclear extracts. Correct cleavage required ATP. In the absence of ATP, nonpoly(A)+ products accumulated which were 18 to 20 nucleotides longer than the RNA generated by correct cleavage; the longer RNA terminated adjacent to the downstream TG element required for polyadenylation. In the presence of ATP analogs, alternate cleavage was not observed; instead, correct cleavage without poly(A) addition occurred. ATP-independent cleavage of simian virus 40 early RNA had many of the same properties as correct cleavage including requirements for an intact AAUAAA element, a proximal 3' terminus, and extract small nuclear ribonucleoproteins. This similarity in reaction parameters suggested that ATP-independent cleavage is an activity of the normal polyadenylation machinery. The ATP-independent cleavage product, however, did not behave as an intermediate in polyadenylation. The alternate RNA did not preferentially chase into correctly cleaved material upon readdition of ATP; instead, poly(A) was added to the 3' terminus of the cleaved RNA during a chase. Purified ATP-independent cleavage RNA, however, was a substrate for correct cleavage when reintroduced into the nuclear extract. Thus, alternate cleavage of polyadenylation sites adjacent to a required downstream sequence element is directed by the polyadenylation machinery in the absence of ATP.