The evolution of RNA editing in kinetoplastid protozoa

Abstract

RNA editing alters messenger RNA transcripts by the addition and deletion of uridine residues. This remarkable process corrects frameshift mutations and replaces AUG initiation codons in most trypanosomatid mitochondrial RNA transcripts. Sometimes, however, RNA editing results in open reading frames whose sequences differ by greater than 50% from the original RNA sequences. In this paper, we will explore two models for the evolution of RNA editing in kinetoplastid protoza.