Spliced leader trans-splicing in the nematode Trichinella spiralis uses highly polymorphic, noncanonical spliced leaders.

ABSTRACT: The trans-splicing of short spliced leader (SL) RNAs onto the 5' ends of mRNAs occurs in a diverse range of taxa. In nematodes, all species so far characterized utilize a characteristic, conserved spliced leader, SL1, as well as variants that are employed in the resolution of operons. Here we report the identification of spliced leader trans-splicing in the basal nematode Trichinella spiralis, and show that this nematode does not possess a canonical SL1, but rather has at least 15 distinct spliced leaders, encoded by at least 19 SL RNA genes. The individual spliced leaders vary in both size and primary sequence, showing a much higher degree of diversity compared to other known trans-spliced leaders. In a survey of T. spiralis mRNAs, individual mRNAs were found to be trans-spliced to a numb

SUBMITTER: Pettitt J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2271357 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature