Length heterogeneity in the poly(adenylic acid) region of yeast messenger ribonucleic acid

Groner, Bernd; Hynes, Nancy E.; Phillips, Stephen L.

doi:10.1021/bi00723a020

Cited by 73 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Because nascent MFA2 transcripts have a narrow distribution of long poly(A) tails, this distribution reflects a population of transcripts at different stages in the deadenylation process (data not shown). This range is consistent with what would be expected from prior examination of the population of poly(A) tails in yeast (Groner et al 1974). After inhibition of transcription by a shift to high temperature, the poly(A) tail shortens rapidly on wild-type transcripts.…”

Section: Mutations That Affect Mrna Decay Also Affect Deadenylationsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…For example, in the case of the c-myc mRNA, the transcript has been seen to pass through a poly(A)-pool as defined by binding to oligo(dT)-cellulose (Swartwout and Kinniburgh 1991). Because mRNAs with oligo(A) tails will bind only poorly to oligo{dT)-cellulose (Groner et al 1974), this poly(A)-pool might be analogous to the oligo(A) form that we observe with the MFA2 transcript. Similarly, mutations have been identified in the c-fos AU-rich instability element that do not affect the rate of deadenylation but do stabilize a form of the transcript with, at most, an oligo(A) tail (Shyu et al 1991).…”

Section: Mrna Decay and Deadenylationmentioning

confidence: 77%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mutations affecting stability and deadenylation of the yeast MFA2 transcript.

Muhlrad¹,

Parker²

1992

Genes Dev.

210

196

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Decay rates of individual mRNAs in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can vary by 10-to 20-fold. To determine the basis for the rapid degradation of the mRNA encoded by the yeast MFA2 gene we have used a genetic screen to isolate mutations that increase the stability of this transcript. Analysis of point mutations obtained from this screen, and of additional lesions constructed in vitro, indicated that the MFA2 3'-untranslated region (UTR) contains sequences that specify rapid mRNA decay. Moreover, the lesions that affected mRNA decay rate also affected the process of mRNA deadenylation. Mutations in one region of the 3' UTR both decreased the rate of poly(A) shortening and increased the stability of an intermediate form in the decay pathway with an oligo(A) tail (-10 nucleotides). Mutations in a second region primarily increased the stability of the oligo(A) form. These results suggest that the decay of the M_FA2 mRNA initiates with the shortening of the poly(A) tail and there are specific sequences within the 3' UTR that stimulate poly(A) tail shortening as well as subsequent steps in the decay pathway. Given the similarity of this decay pathway to that seen for some mammalian mRNAs, these results suggest that mRNA deadenylation may be a common mechanism of mRNA turnover.

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Section: Mutations That Affect Mrna Decay Also Affect Deadenylationsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Mrna Decay and Deadenylationmentioning

confidence: 77%

Mutations affecting stability and deadenylation of the yeast MFA2 transcript.

Muhlrad¹,

Parker²

1992

Genes Dev.

210

196

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This conclusion is compatible with previous reports on the length of yeast nuclear poly(A)-containing RNA [39,40]. Long heterogeneous nuclear RNA molecules as described for higher eukaryotes [32, 33,41] have not been found in lower eukaryotic organisms.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…In the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum the putative precursor mRNA has been reported to be only about 20% longer than the functional polysomal messenger RNA [42,43]. In yeast the length of nuclear poly(A)-containing RNA is believed to be at most twice the length of cytoplasmic poly(A)-containing RNA [39,441, and in another report a difference in length of only 10% has been suggested [40]. Consequently, the results of the ultraviolet irradiation experiments can not be explained by the presence of large nonconserved fragments in the primary transcripts of transcriptional units for ribosomal protein.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcriptional Units for Ribosomal Proteins in Yeast

et al. 1977

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The effects of ultraviolet irradiation on the rates of synthesis of individual ribosomal proteins in yeast were examined and compared with the ultraviolet sensitivities of the synthesis of other yeast proteins. It was found that the synthesis of yeast ribosomal proteins is much more sensitive to ultraviolet irradiation than that of other yeast cellular proteins. Taking into account the half-life of yeast mRNA, the results obtained indicate that the genes coding for ribosomal proteins form part of long transcriptional units, which are much longer than the DNA stretch needed to code for a ribosomal protein of average molecular weight.Saturation hybridization of total poly(A)-containing mRNA with yeast nuclear DNA revealed that as much as 30 % of DNA is complementary to yeast mRNA. Thus, the primary transcript of a protein gene on the average is about 1.7 times the length of the actual messenger.On the basis of the various experimental data we suggest a clustering of the yeast ribosomal protein genes in a number of common transcriptional units.Knowledge about the genetic organization of all ribosomal constituents is necessary to get insight into the way in which the synthesis of these molecules is coordinated. Both in prokaryotic (see [l] for a review) and in eukaryotic [2,3] organisms the individual ribosomal RNA components are transcribed from a common transcriptional unit. An attractive possibility would be that the ribosomal protein genes are also arranged in one or more polycistronic units. From genetic studies it appeared that the ribosomal protein genes in Eschevichia coli are clustered (see [4] for a review). Experiments with rifampicin also indicated that the bacterial ribosomal protein genes are organized in a limited number of common transcriptional units [5]. Very recently, this could be confirmed by measuring the ultraviolet sensitivities of the rates of synthesis of the ribosomal proteins [6]. At least six transcriptional units for ribosomal proteins were found to exist, of which the longest carries 10-12 ribosomal protein genes of average size [6].So far, nothing is known about the genes specifying the ribosomal proteins in eukaryotic cells. In an attempt to determine the size of the transcriptional units for ribosomal proteins in yeast, we measured the sensitivity of the synthesis of individual ribosomal proteins to ultraviolet light by irradiation of whole cells. This technique has been succesfully employed not only for prokaryotic systems but also in the study of the organization of the ribosomal RNA genes in eukaryotes (both in yeast [7] and in mammalian cells [S]). The method is based on the finding that lesions in the DNA, induced by ultraviolet light, cause premature termination of the transcription, resulting in the release of the incomplete transcript and the RNA polymerase from the template (see [7] for more details). Therefore, the DNA located between the damaged site and the next promotor site will not be transcribed. Since genes represent stretches of DNA large enough to allow the assum...

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“…Alternatively, the mRNAs detected at 60 min after inactivation of poly(A) polymerase may persist as, or become, poly (A) ^ by some unanticipated mechanism. The results shown in Figure 2B, however, indicate that the majority of TCMI, CYH2, PABl, and PGKl tran scripts detected 60 min after shift do not bind to oligo(dT)-cellulose and so have very short, or no poly(A) tails (Groner et al 1974;Patel and Butler 1992). …”

Section: Stability and Poly(a) Status Of Mrnas After Inactivation Of mentioning

confidence: 88%