Milhausen M, Nelson R G, Sather S, Selkirk M, Agabian N
Cell. 1984 Oct;38(3):721-9. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90267-8.
The 35 nucleotide spliced leader (SL) sequence is found on the 5' end of numerous trypanosome mRNAs, yet the tandemly organized reiteration units encoding this leader are not detectably linked to any of these structural genes. Here we report the presence of a class of discrete small SL RNA molecules that are derived from the genomic SL reiteration units of Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Leptomonas collosoma. These small SL RNAs are 135, 105, and 95 nucleotides, respectively, and contain a 5'-terminal SL or SL-like sequence. S1 nuclease analyses demonstrate that these small SL RNAs are transcribed from continuous sequence within the respective SL reiteration units. With the exception of the SL sequence and a concensus donor splice site immediately following it, these small RNAs are not well conserved. We suggest that the small SL RNAs may function as a donor of the SL sequence in an intermolecular process that places the SL at the 5' terminus of many trypanosomatid mRNAs.
35个核苷酸的剪接前导序列(SL)存在于众多锥虫mRNA的5'端,但编码该前导序列的串联组织重复单元与这些结构基因中的任何一个均未检测到连锁关系。在此,我们报告了一类离散的小SL RNA分子的存在,它们源自布氏锥虫、克氏锥虫和粗线列鞭毛虫的基因组SL重复单元。这些小SL RNA分别为135、105和95个核苷酸,并含有一个5'-末端SL或SL样序列。S1核酸酶分析表明,这些小SL RNA是从各自SL重复单元内的连续序列转录而来。除了SL序列及其后的一个共有供体剪接位点外,这些小RNA的保守性不佳。我们认为,小SL RNA可能在一个分子间过程中作为SL序列的供体,该过程将SL置于许多锥虫mRNA的5'末端。