Cotranscriptional editing of Physarum mitochondrial RNA requires local features of the native template

Abstract

RNAs in the mitochondrion of Physarum polycephalum are edited by the precise cotranscriptional addition of non-encoded nucleotides. Here we describe experiments to address the basis of editing specificity using a series of chimeric templates generated by either rearranging the DNA present in editing-competent mitochondrial transcription elongation complexes (mtTECs) or linking it to exogenous DNA. Notably, run-on transcripts synthesized from rearranged mtTECs are edited at the natural sites, even when different genes are ligated together, yet exogenous, deproteinized DNA does not support editing. Furthermore, the accuracy of nucleotide insertion in chimeric RNAs argues that any cis-acting determinants of cytidine insertion are limited to small regions surrounding editing sites. Taken together, these observations strongly suggest that template-associated factors affect read-out of the mitochondrial genome.