Heterologous, splicing-dependent RNA editing in chloroplasts: allotetraploidy provides trans-factors.

ABSTRACT: RNA editing is unique among post-transcriptional processes in plastids, as it exhibits extraordinary phylogenetic dynamics leading to species-specific editing site patterns. The evolutionary loss of a site is considered to entail the loss of the corresponding nuclear-encoded site-specific factor, which prevents the editing of foreign, i.e. heterologous, sites. We investigated the editing of short 'spliced' and 'unspliced' ndhA gene fragments from spinach in Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) in vivo using biolistic transformation. Surprisingly, it turned out that the spinach site is edited in the heterologous nuclear background. Furthermore, only exon-exon fusions were edited, whereas intron-containing messages remained unprocessed. A homologue of the spinach site was found to be present and edit

SUBMITTER: Schmitz-Linneweber C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC125269 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature