Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025

Combining X-Ray Crystallography with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering to Model Unstructured Regions of Nsa1 from S. Cerevisiae
Published on: January 10, 2018
Structural basis for high-order complex of SARNP and DDX39B to facilitate mRNP assembly
Yihu Xie1, Shengyan Gao2, Ke Zhang2
1Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-0146, USA; Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-0146, USA.
Abstract:
mRNA in eukaryotic cells is packaged into highly compacted ribonucleoprotein particles (mRNPs) in the nucleus and exported to the cytoplasm for translation. mRNP packaging and export require the evolutionarily conserved transcription-export (TREX) complex. TREX facilitates loading of various RNA-binding proteins on mRNA through the action of its DDX39B subunit. SARNP (Tho1 [transcriptional defect of Hpr1 by overexpression 1] in yeast) is shown to interact with DDX39B and affect mRNA export. The molecular mechanism of how SARNP recognizes DDX39B and functions in mRNP assembly is unclear. Here, we determine the crystal structure of a Tho1/DDX39B/RNA complex, revealing a multivalent interaction mediated by tandem DDX39B interacting motifs in SARNP/Tho1. The high-order complex of SARNP and DDX39B is evolutionarily conserved, and human SARNP can engage with five DDX39B molecules. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) from SARNP knockdown cells shows the most affected RNAs in export are GC rich. Our work suggests the role of the high-order SARNP/DDX39B/RNA complex in mRNP assembly and export.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Ribosomal RNA Synthesis
Ribosome biogenesis begins with the synthesis of 5S and 45S pre-rRNAs by distinct RNA polymerases. The primary transcripts are extensively processed and modified before they are bound and folded by ribosomal proteins and assembly factors,...
Additional Subnuclear Structures
The nucleus contains many membrane-less subnuclear organelles or nuclear bodies, such as nucleoli, Cajal bodies, speckles,...
Protein Complex Assembly
Many viruses self-assemble into a fully functional unit using the infected host cell to...
Nuclear Export of mRNA
Nuclear Export
NES are of three types- the canonical 10-residue long leucine-rich signal and other...
Directing Proteins to the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum

