Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1986 Nov 21;47(4):527-35.
doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90617-3.

Evidence for trans splicing in trypanosomes

R E Sutton, J C Boothroyd

Evidence for trans splicing in trypanosomes

R E Sutton et al. Cell. .

Abstract

The 5' ends of trypanosome mRNAs consist of an identical sequence of 35 nucleotides. This "mini-exon" sequence is derived from the 5' end of a 137 nucleotide RNA (medRNA). The remainder of each mRNA is derived from a protein-coding exon that is not linked to the mini-exon. We propose that medRNA is spliced in trans to de-novo-initiated transcripts of protein-coding genes. This trans splicing model predicts that the downstream portion of medRNA will be part of a branched structure and then be released as a free product (minRNA). We demonstrate that significant levels of minRNA exist in trypanosome RNA. Furthermore, minRNA can be released from high molecular weight RNA by a HeLa cell S100 "debranching" extract. We conclude that trans splicing is the physiological process by which mature mRNA molecules are synthesized in trypanosomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Berk A.J., Sharp P.A. Sizing and mapping of early adenovirus mRNAs by gel electrophoresis of S1 endonuclease-digested hybrids. Cell. 1977;12:721–732. - PubMed
    1. Bernards A., De Lange T., Michels P.A.M., Liu A.Y.C., Huisman M.J., Borst P. Two modes of activation of a single surface antigen gene of Trypanosoma brucei. Cell. 1984;36:163–170. - PubMed
    1. Boothroyd J.C. Antigenic variation in African trypanosomes. Ann. Rev. Microbiol. 1985;39:475–502. - PubMed
    1. Boothroyd J.C., Cross G.A.M. Transcripts coding for different variant surface glycoproteins in Trypanosoma brucei have a short identical exon at their 5′-end. Gene. 1982;20:279–287. - PubMed
    1. Boothroyd J.C., Campbell D.A., Sutton R.E. Expression of surface antigen genes in Trypanosoma brucei involves a novel system of discontinuous transcription. In: Lerner R.A., Channock R.M., Brown F., editors. Modern Approaches to Vaccines. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Cold Spring Harbor, New York: 1985. pp. 61–66.

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources