Different mRNAs have different nuclear transit times in Dictyostelium discoideum aggregates

Nuclear processing of mRNA precursors in differentiating multicellular Dictyostelium discoideum aggregates is markedly slower than in growing amoebae. Thus, we have been able to determine the time of nuclear processing of individual mRNA species in postaggregating cells by following the incorporation of 32PO4 into nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA complementary to cloned cDNAs. Precursors of mRNAs synthesized during both growth and differentiation remain in the nucleus for about 25 to 60 min. By contrast, typical mRNAs which are synthesized only by postaggregative cells have nuclear processing times between 50 and 100 min. Depending on the particular mRNA, between 20 and 60% of nuclear transcripts are converted into cytoplasmic mRNA. A third class of mRNAs are transcribed from a set of repetitive DNA segments and are expressed predominantly during differentiation. Nuclear precursors of these mRNAs are extensively degraded within the nucleus or very rapidly after transport to the cytoplasm. Those sequences that are stable in the cytoplasm exit from the nucleus only after a lag of over 2 h. Thus, mRNAs encoded by different genes that are subject to different types of developmental controls display different times of transit to the cytoplasm and different efficiencies of nuclear processing. Differential nuclear processing may contribute to the regulation of the level of individual cytoplasmic mRNAs.