Intron definition in splicing of small Drosophila introns

Autor: M Talerico, S M Berget
Rok vydání: 1994
Předmět:
Zdroj: Molecular and Cellular Biology. 14:3434-3445
ISSN: 1098-5549
0270-7306
DOI: 10.1128/mcb.14.5.3434
Popis: Approximately half of the introns in Drosophila melanogaster are too small to function in a vertebrate and often lack the pyrimidine tract associated with vertebrate 3' splice sites. Here, we report the splicing and spliceosome assembly properties of two such introns: one with a pyrimidine-poor 3' splice site and one with a pyrimidine-rich 3' splice site. The pyrimidine-poor intron was absolutely dependent on its small size for in vivo and in vitro splicing and assembly. As such, it had properties reminiscent of those of yeast introns. The pyrimidine-rich intron had properties intermediate between those of yeasts and vertebrates. This 3' splice site directed assembly of ATP-dependent complexes when present as either an intron or exon and supported low levels of in vivo splicing of a moderate-length intron. We propose that splice sites can be recognized as pairs across either exons or introns, depending on which distance is shorter, and that a pyrimidine-rich region upstream of the 3' splice site facilitates the exon mode.
Databáze: OpenAIRE