Identification of pre-mRNA polyadenylation sites in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

AUTOR(ES)

Heidmann, S

RESUMO

In contrast to higher eukaryotes, little is known about the nature of the sequences which direct 3'-end formation of pre-mRNAs in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The hexanucleotide AAUAAA, which is highly conserved and crucial in mammals, does not seem to have any functional importance for 3'-end formation in yeast cells. Instead, other elements have been proposed to serve as signal sequences. We performed a detailed investigation of the yeast ACT1, ADH1, CYC1, and YPT1 cDNAs, which showed that the polyadenylation sites used in vivo can be scattered over a region spanning up to 200 nucleotides. It therefore seems very unlikely that a single signal sequence is responsible for the selection of all these polyadenylation sites. Our study also showed that in the large majority of mRNAs, polyadenylation starts directly before or after an adenosine residue and that 3'-end formation of ADH1 transcripts occurs preferentially at the sequence PyAAA. Site-directed mutagenesis of these sites in the ADH1 gene suggested that this PyAAA sequence is essential for polyadenylation site selection both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the 3'-terminal regions of the yeast genes investigated here are characterized by their capacity to act as signals for 3'-end formation in vivo in either orientation.

Documentos Relacionados

• Six novel genes necessary for pre-mRNA splicing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
• Interactions of PRP2 protein with pre-mRNA splicing complexes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
• The PRP31 gene encodes a novel protein required for pre-mRNA splicing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
• Size and position of intervening sequences are critical for the splicing efficiency of pre-mRNA in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
• AAR2, a gene for splicing pre-mRNA of the MATa1 cistron in cell type control of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.