Spatiotemporal organization of pre-mRNA splicing proteins in plants

Abstract

The general organization ofeukaryotic nuclei, including plant nuclei, into functional domains is now widely recognized. Conventional immunocytochemistry and visualization of proteins fused to fluorescent proteins (FP) have revealed that in plants, RNA and protein components of pre-mRNA splicing are spatially organized depending on the stage of cell cycle, development, and the cell's physiological state. Application of some of the latest microscopy techniques, which reveal biophysical properties such as diffusion and interaction properties of proteins, has begun to provide important insights into the functional organization of spliceosomal proteins in plants. Although some progress has been made in understanding the spatial and temporal organization of splicing machinery in plants, the mechanisms that regulate this organization and its functional consequences remain unresolved.