U4 small nuclear RNA can function in both the major and minor spliceosomes.

ABSTRACT: U4 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) and U6 snRNA form a base-paired di-snRNP complex that is essential for pre-mRNA splicing of the major class of metazoan nuclear introns. The functionally analogous but highly diverged U4atac and U6atac snRNAs form a similar complex that is involved in splicing of the minor class of introns. Previous results with mutants of U6atac in which a substructure was replaced by the analogous structure from U6 snRNA suggested that wild-type U4 snRNA might be able to interact productively with the mutant U6atac snRNA. Here we show that a mutant U4 snRNA designed to base pair with a mutant U6atac snRNA can activate U12-dependent splicing when coexpressed in an in vivo genetic suppression assay. This genetic interaction could also be demonstrated in an in vitro crosslinking

SUBMITTER: Shukla GC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC314144 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature