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At least 1,171 records · Page 65Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Contributions of RNA secondary structure and length of the thymidine tract to transcription termination at the thr operon attenuator.

The thr operon of Escherichia coli is regulated by an attenuation mechanism in which regulated transcription termination occurs in response to the levels of charged tRNAthr and tRNAile. Transcription of the thr operon regulatory region in vitro produces a 162-base transcript that is terminated efficiently at the attenuator. The attenuator sequence is similar to other rho-independent terminators. It contains a G + C region of dyad symmetry followed by a run of 9 A + T residues. We have characterized in detail the sequence requirements for efficient transcription termination in vitro. Using a set of point mutations in the G + C region of dyad symmetry of the thr attenuator, we have characterized the effects of these mutations on the efficiency of transcription termination. The efficiency was reduced in all of the mutants analyzed with the greatest effect being an approximate 20% decrease in termination. In some instances the electrophoretic mobilities of the terminated transcripts on 8% polyacrylamide, 8 M urea gels were shifted substantially relative to the wild type-terminated transcript, but the sites of transcription termination were altered by only a few base pairs. We also constructed a set of deletions removing consecutive thymidines which follow the G + C-rich region of dyad symmetry. Removal of 1 or 3 of the 9 thymidine residues had no effect on termination efficiency in vitro or in vivo. Removal of four to six thymidines caused a linear decrease in the efficiency of termination. When only one or two thymidines were present in the template, termination was completely abolished. These results indicate that both the integrity of the RNA stem and the length of the consecutive thymidine residues are important signals recognized by RNA polymerase during transcription of the thr operon regulatory region.

Bacteriophage lambda↗
PubMed2004

Pre-18S ribosomal RNA is structurally compacted into the SSU processome prior to being cleaved from nascent transcripts in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Recent studies have revealed multiple dynamic complexes that are precursors to eukaryotic ribosomes. EM visualization of nascent rRNA transcripts provides in vivo temporal and structural context for these events. In exponentially growing S. cerevisiae, pre-18S rRNA is dramatically compacted into a large particle (SSU processome) within seconds of completion of its transcription and is released cotranscriptionally by cleavage in ITS1. After cleavage, a new terminal knob is formed on the nascent large subunit rRNA, compacting it progressively in a 5'-3' direction. Depletion of individual components shows that cotranscriptional SSU processome formation is a sensitive indicator of the occurrence or timing of the early A0-A2 cleavages and depends on factors not isolated in preribosome complexes, as well as on favorable growth conditions. The results show that the approximately 40 components of the SSU processome/90S preribosome can complete their tasks within approximately 85 s in optimal conditions.

Microscopy, Electron↗
PubMed1996

Differential sensitivities of portions of the mRNA for ribosomal protein S20 to 3'-exonucleases dependent on oligoadenylation and RNA secondary structure.

The 3'-exonucleolytic decay of the mRNA for ribosomal protein S20 has been reconstituted in vitro using purified RNase II and crude extracts enriched for polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) activity. We show that RNase II can catalyze the degradation of the 5' two-thirds of the S20 mRNA and that prior oligoadenylation of the 3' termini of truncated S20 mRNA substrates can significantly stimulate the initiation of degradation by RNase II. The intact S20 mRNA is, however, insensitive to attack by RNase II and polyadenylation of its 3'-end cannot overcome the natural resistance of the S20 mRNA to RNase II. Complete degradation of either the entire S20 mRNA without prior endonucleolytic cleavage or the 3'-terminal 147-residue fragment is dependent on both oligoadenylation and PNPase activity. Moreover, this process can take place in the absence of RNase E activity. Our data point to the importance of oligoadenylation in facilitating 3'-exonucleolytic activity and indicate that there are alternative degradative pathways. The implications for mRNA decay are discussed.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1995

Role of RNA secondary structure of the iron-responsive element in translational regulation of ferritin synthesis.

Iron regulates synthesis of the iron storage protein ferritin at the translational level through interaction between a stem-loop structure, the iron-responsive element (IRE), located in the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) of ferritin mRNAs, and a protein, the iron regulatory protein (IRP). The role of IRE secondary structure in translational regulation of ferritin synthesis was explored by introducing ferritin constructs containing mutations in the IRE into Rat-2 fibroblasts. Our in vivo studies demonstrate that size and sequence of the loop within the IRE and the distance and/or spatial relationship of this loop to the bulged nucleotide region closest to the loop must be preserved in order to observe iron-dependent translation of ferritin mRNA. In contrast, changes in nucleotide sequence of the upper stem can be introduced without affecting translational regulation in vivo, as long as a stem can be formed. Our in vivo results suggest that only a very small variation in the affinity of interaction of IRP with IRE can be tolerated in order to maintain iron-dependent regulation of translation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Genetic variability within the 5' nontranslated region of hepatitis A virus RNA. Implications for secondary structure and function.

The RNA genome of hepatitis A virus (HAV) contains a lengthy and relatively well conserved 5' nontranslated region (5'NTR). In other picornaviruses, the 5'NTR has been shown to have important functions related to the initiation of viral translation and replication of viral RNA, functions which are critically dependent on both primary and secondary RNA structure. We have utilized a phylogenetic approach to construct a model of the secondary structure of the HAV 5'NTR. By comparing the nucleotide sequences of genetically divergent simian and human HAV strains, we identified a series of covariant nucleotide substitutions which are predictive of conserved, double-stranded helical structures within the 5'NTR, and which thus permitted improved thermodynamic modeling of the secondary structure. The model was further refined based on the observed sites of cleavage of synthetic RNA by single- and double-strand specific RNAses. The results of these studies suggest that the 5'NTR of HAV has a general organization similar to that of other picornaviruses, and shares certain structural features and perhaps specific functions with the 5'NTRs of the cardioviruses and aphthoviruses.

Base Composition↗
PubMed2006

Rnall: an efficient algorithm for predicting RNA local secondary structural landscape in genomes.

BACKGROUND: The information of RNA local secondary structures (LSSs) can help retrieve biologically important motifs and study functions of RNA molecules. Most of the current RNA secondary structure prediction tools are not suitable for RNA LSS prediction on the genome scale due to high computational complexity. METHODS: We developed a new computer package Rnall based on a dynamic programming technique, which scans an RNA sequence with a sliding window and extracts all RNA LSSs with sizes no larger than the window size using the nearest neighbor thermodynamic parameters. The worst case running time of Rnall is O(W(3)L), where W is the window size and L is the query sequence length. In practice we observed a running time of O(W(2)L). We further introduced the concept of energy landscape for illustrating RNA LSS, which may facilitate RNA motif mining on the genomic scale. RESULTS: Rnall shows better prediction accuracy than two other prediction tools Lfold and Quickfold. Rnall is also applied to scan for RNA LSSs in three genomes, and the prediction maps well with known RNA motifs. CONCLUSIONS: Rnall is designed for RNA LSS prediction and together with the energy landscape, it has unique features that could be used for RNA structural motif mining. Rnall is freely available for download at http://digbio.missouri.edu/~wanx/Rnall or http://www.sysbio.muohio.edu/Rnall.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1996

A tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase suppresses structural defects in the two major helical domains of the group I intron catalytic core.

The Neurospora crassa mitochondrial tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase, the CYT-18 protein, functions in splicing group I introns by promoting the formation of the catalytically active structure of the intron RNA. The group I intron catalytic core is thought to consist of two extended helical domains, one formed by coaxial stacking of P5, P4, P6, and P6a (P4-P6 domain) and the other consisting of P8, P3, P7, and P9 (P3-P9 domain). To investigate how CYT-18 stabilizes the active RNA structure, we used an Escherichia coli genetic assay based on the phage T4 td intron to systematically test the ability of CYT-18 to compensate for structural defects in three key regions of the catalytic core: J3/4 and J6/7, connecting regions that form parts of the triple-helical-scaffold structure with the P4-P6 domain, and P7, a long-range base-pairing interaction that forms the guanosine-binding site and is part of the P3-P9 domain. Our results show that CYT-18 can suppress numerous mutations that disrupt the J3/4 and J6/7 nucleotide-triple interactions, as well as mutations that disrupt base-pairing in P7. CYT-18 suppressed mutations of phylogenetically conserved nucleotide residues at all positions tested, except for the universally conserved G-residue at the guanosine-binding site. Structure mapping experiments with selected mutant introns showed that the CYT-18-suppressible J3/4 mutations primarily impaired folding of the P4-P6 domain, while the J6/7 mutations impaired folding of both the P4-P6 and P3-P9 domains to various degrees. The P7 mutations impaired the formation of both P7 and P3, thereby grossly disrupting the P3-P9 domain. The finding that the P7 mutations also impaired formation of P3 provides evidence that the formation of these two long-range pairings is interdependent in the td intron. Considered together with previous work, the nature of mutations suppressed by CYT-18 supports a model in which CYT-18 helps assemble the P4-P6 domain and then stabilizes the two major helical domains of the catalytic core in the correct relative orientation to form the intron's active site.

Bacteriophage T4↗
PubMed1982

Molecular cloning, DNA structure, and RNA analysis of the arginase gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A study of cis-dominant regulatory mutations.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene cargA + or CAR1 , encoding arginase has been cloned by recovering function in transformed yeast cells. It was used to analyse RNA and chromosomal DNA from six strains bearing cis-dominant regulatory mutations leading to constitutive arginase synthesis. The DNA from the four cargA + O- strains in which constitutive arginase synthesis was independent of the mating-type functions showed no detectable differences with the wild- typye . The cargA + O- mutations were, therefore, small alterations, possibly single base substitutions. On the other hand, the cargA + Oh-1 and cargA + Oh-2 mutations, leading to a constitutive and mating-type dependent arginase synthesis, were identified as insertions. Their size and restriction pattern strongly suggested that they were induced by the Ty1 yeast transposable element. This was confirmed by cloning and analysis of the cargA + Oh-1 mutant gene. The concentration of arginase RNA was significantly increased in the mutants, indicating that the regulation of arginase synthesis was exerted, at least in part, at the level of RNA synthesis or stability. In the cargA + Oh-2 strain the Ty1 element was located at a distance of approximately 600 base pairs from the insertion present in the cargA + Oh-1 strain. This result suggests either a surprisingly large arginase regulatory region or an indirect influence of the Ty1 element on gene expression over long distances.

Arginase↗
PubMed1986

Structure of RNA polymerase II promoters. Conformational alterations and template properties of circularized Saccharomyces cerevisiae GAL1-GAL10 divergent promoters.

A DNA fragment encompassing the Saccharomyces cerevisiae GAL1--GAL10 divergent promoters (914 bp) has been circularized in vitro with T4 DNA ligase. We have defined a set of conditions that allows the production of a series of nine topoisomers covering a range from relaxed to highly negatively supercoiled DNA. Topoisomers were recovered in pure form from agarose gels and were analysed singly for the presence of sites sensitive to the single strand-specific endonuclease Pl. In this way, the occurrence of conformational alterations as a function of the linking deficiency of the closed DNA domain has been determined. Interestingly, sites of Pl hypersensitivity localize on the three sequences identified as relevant for the in vitro transcription of the GAL1 moiety of the divergent promoter: the upstream activator sequence (UAS), the TATA sequence, and the RNA initiation site (RIS). In vitro transcription with purified S. cerevisiae RNA polymerase II shows that activation of transcription parallels the appearance of conformational alterations on the UAS, the TATA and the RIS sequences.

Base Composition↗
PubMed1995

A synthetic, chemically modified ribozyme eliminates amelogenin, the major translation product in developing mouse enamel in vivo.

Ribozymes are small RNA structures capable of cleaving RNA target molecules in a catalytic fashion. Designed ribozymes can be targeted to specific mRNAs, blocking their expression without affecting normal functions of other genes. Because of their specific and catalytic mode of action ribozymes are ideal agents for therapeutic interventions against malfunctioning or foreign gene products. Here we report successful experiments to 'knock out' a major translation product in vivo using synthesized, chemically modified ribozymes. The ribozymes, designed to cleave amelogenin mRNA, were injected close to developing mandibular molar teeth in newborn mice, resulting in a prolonged and specific arrest of amelogenin synthesis not caused by general toxicity. No carriers were required to assist cellular uptake. Amelogenins are highly conserved tissue-specific proteins that play a central role in mammalian enamel biomineralization. Ultrastructural analyses of in vivo ribozyme-treated teeth demonstrated their failure to develop normally mineralized enamel. These results demonstrate that synthesized ribozymes can be highly effective in achieving both timed and localized 'knock-out' of important gene products in vivo, and suggest new possibilities for suppression of gene expression for research and therapeutic purposes.

Amelogenin↗
PubMed1993

Gene organization, primary structure and RNA processing analysis of a ribosomal RNA operon in Lactococcus lactis.

Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA of the mesophilic lactic bacterium Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis strain IL1403, illuminated six rRNA gene clusters. Each cluster contains one copy each of three rRNA genes, displaying the typical eubacterial organization of physically linked 16 S, 23 S and 5 S rRNA genes. Five of the six rRNA clusters were cloned into plasmid pBR322. One recombinant plasmid, pSLCM6, containing a 6500 base-pair genomic DNA fragment, was characterized by physical mapping and the sequences encoding rRNAs and tRNAs were localized by Southern hybridization. This fragment contains a single operon composed of one promoter, a leader sequence, a 16 S rRNA gene, a tRNA(Ala) gene, a 23 S rRNA gene, a 5 S rRNA gene and a tRNA(Asn) gene. S1 nuclease mapping and primer extension analysis of in vivo transcripts localized one transcriptional initiation site 150 base-pairs upstream from the start of the 16 S rRNA gene. These procedures also suggest that this transcript is processed by an RNAse III-like activity similar to Bacillus subtilis; i.e. the L. lactis nuclease might be sequence-specific. The chronology of specific cleavages occurring during the maturation process of the precursor transcript is described. One interesting observation is that the regions flanking the 16 S and 23 S rRNAs containing the primary processing sites are identical and contain sequences that could be involved in transcriptional antitermination. S1 mapping of the 3' ends of in vivo transcripts indicate that a terminator-like sequence a few base-pairs downstream from the distal tRNA(Asn) gene is inefficient in arresting transcription.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1977

Iodination-deiodination. A radiochemical method for detection of structure and changes in structure in RNA.

Bound iodine is released from radioiodinated nucleotides in polymers exposed to sodium bisulfite. The rate of bisulfite-catalyzed deiodination of pyrimidines can be controlled both by change of temperature of pH and is also dependent on the molecular association of the nucleotide. The rate of release of iodine from iodocytidine in polycytidylate is greater than the rate of elimination from RNA. Experiments testing the influence of base-pairing of the iodopyrimidines in synthetic polynucleotides showed that pairing of the substituted nucleotide protected the iodine bond. The rates of bisulfite-catalyzed deiodination of several radioiodinated RNAs were measured. The action of bisulfite on all single stranded RNAs tested was multiphasic consisting of a rapid early deiodination reaction supplanted by a slower phase which was followed by reacceleration of release. The release of iodine from double stranded RNA and DNA-RNA duplexes was retarded in comparison with the release from ribosomal and messenger RNA fractions. The deiodination profiles of single and double stranded RNA suggested that the intermediate stage iodine release is governed by melting of paired zones of low stability. Late release may result from destablization of the molecule through the addition of bisulfite to the pyrimidine ring or deamination. The effect of several substances expected to complex with polynucleotides was tested. Acridine orange and ethidium bromide increased loss of iodine from ribosomal RNA but slightly decreased elimination from double stranded viral RNA. A basic protein fraction isolated from ribosomal particles accelerated the deiodination of ribosomal RNA. While the destabilization caused by this protein fraction was greater than that caused by an equal amount of albumin, as tested the effect was non-specific. The results show that a change in sensitivity to chemical deiodination may folow the interaction of small amounts of protein with polynucleotides.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Structure and RNA content of the prosomes.

Duck erythroblasts prosomes were analysed by small angle neutron scattering (SANS), dynamic light scattering and (cryo-)electron microscopy. A molecular weight of approximately 720,000 +/- 50,000, a radius of gyration of 64 +/- 2 A and a hydrodynamic radius of approximately 86 A were obtained. Electron micrographs show a hollow cylinder-like particle with a diameter of 120 A, a height of 170 A and a diameter of 40 A for the cavity, built of four discs, the two outer ones being more pronounced than those in the center. Results from SANS indicate less then 5% of RNA in the purified prosomes, but nuclease protection assays confirm its presence.

Animals↗