An alternative intron-exon pairing scheme implied by unexpected in vitro activities of group II intron RmInt1 from Sinorhizobium meliloti

Biochimie. 2006 Jun;88(6):711-7. doi: 10.1016/j.biochi.2005.12.007. Epub 2006 Jan 19.

Abstract

RmInt1 is a mobile group II intron which interrupts ISRm2011-2, another mobile element from the bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti. Ribozyme constructs derived from intron RmInt1 self-splice in vitro when incubated under permissive conditions, but the excised intron and ligated exons are largely replaced by unconventional products. These include a slightly shorter, 5'-end truncated 3' exon, truncated variants of the linear and lariat forms of the intron-3' exon reaction intermediate, as well as presumably circular molecules derived from the latter. Two factors explain the abundance of these products: (i) nucleotides 5-11 of the 3' exon (IBS1*) provide a better match to the EBS1 5'-exon-binding site than the authentic IBS1 sequence in the 5' exon; (ii) exon ligation is unusually inefficient, and especially so when the 5' exon is truncated close to the second (IBS2) intron-binding site. We propose that reactions at the IBS1* site play a part in the regulation of the intron ISRm2011-2 host in vivo.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alternative Splicing / genetics*
  • Base Pairing / genetics
  • Base Sequence
  • Exons / genetics*
  • Introns / genetics*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Nucleic Acid Conformation
  • RNA, Bacterial / chemistry
  • RNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • RNA, Bacterial / metabolism
  • RNA, Catalytic / chemistry
  • RNA, Catalytic / genetics
  • RNA, Catalytic / metabolism
  • Sinorhizobium meliloti / genetics*

Substances

  • RNA, Bacterial
  • RNA, Catalytic