The RNA exosome is a multisubunit exonuclease involved in numerous RNA maturation and degradation processes. Exosomes are found in eukaryotes and archaea and are related to bacterial polynucleotide phosphorylates. Over the past years structural and biochemical analysis revealed that archaeal exosomes have a large processing chamber with three phosphorolytic active sites that degrade RNA in the 3′→5′ direction in a highly processive manner. A narrow entry pore, framed by putative RNA-binding domains, could account for the high processivity and also prevent degradation of structured RNA. The phosphorolytic nuclease activity is reversible, leading to formation of heteropolymeric tails from nucleoside diphosphates as substrate. This reversibility is difficult to regulate, suggesting why, during evolution and emergence of stable poly(A) tails in eukaryotes, polyadenylation and nuclease activities in the human exosome and associated factors have been separated.
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February 2009
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Conference Article|
January 20 2009
Lessons from structural and biochemical studies on the archaeal exosome
Sophia Hartung;
Sophia Hartung
1Center for Integrated Protein Science and Gene Center, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Feodor-Lynen-Strasse 25, 81377 Munich, Germany
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Karl-Peter Hopfner
Karl-Peter Hopfner
1
1Center for Integrated Protein Science and Gene Center, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Feodor-Lynen-Strasse 25, 81377 Munich, Germany
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (email hopfner@lmb.uni-muenchen.de).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
October 10 2008
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Biochemical Society
2009
Biochem Soc Trans (2009) 37 (1): 83–87.
Article history
Received:
October 10 2008
Citation
Sophia Hartung, Karl-Peter Hopfner; Lessons from structural and biochemical studies on the archaeal exosome. Biochem Soc Trans 1 February 2009; 37 (1): 83–87. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST0370083
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