... to undergo others. Furthermore, alternative splicing and/or cleavage and polyadenylation can produce transcripts with alternative messages and new functionalities. The coordinated processing of groups of functionally related RNAs can potently re-wire signalling pathways, modulate survival pathways and even...

..., catalysis, and active site formation. This has advanced our mechanistic understanding of pre-mRNA splicing enormously. Figure 2. Schematic representation of splicing cycle. Assembly intermediates, for which atomic co-ordinates are available, are labelled with the corresponding PDB codes, dark blue...

... folding and promote rearrangements of structured RNAs and RNPs, including the spliceosome, and may use related mechanisms to maintain cellular messenger RNAs in unfolded or partially unfolded conformations. helicase RNA structure self-splicing intron splicing unwinding Correspondence...

... is well recognized as causal for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Recent studies have shown that aberrant gene expression can also lead to disorders of neural development. Here we summarize recent evidence implicating in the aetiology of NDDs mutation of factors acting at the level of mRNA splicing...

...Steven West Splicing is a key process for mRNA maturation, particularly in higher eukaryotes where most protein-coding transcripts contain multiple introns. It is achieved by the concerted action of five snRNAs (small nuclear RNAs) and hundreds of accessory proteins that form the spliceosome...

...Natalia Gromak Most human genes transcribed by RNA Pol II (polymerase II) contain short exons separated by long tracts of non-coding intronic sequences. In addition to their role in generating proteomic diversity through the process of alternative splicing, intronic sequences host many ncRNAs (non...

... issue. 1 To whom correspondence should be addressed (email s.brogna@bham.ac.uk ). 7 6 2010 © The Authors Journal compilation © 2010 Biochemical Society 2010 ribosomal protein ribosome splicing transcription translation Although rRNA contributes mostly...

...Daniela Hahn; Jean D. Beggs RNA helicases are involved in many cellular processes. Pre-mRNA splicing requires eight different DExD/H-box RNA helicases, which facilitate spliceosome assembly and remodelling of the intricate network of RNA rearrangements that are central to the splicing process...

... the spliceosome to decode pre-mRNAs into alternatively spliced mRNAs. Recent post-genomic technology has exposed the complexity of nuclear RNA processing, and is starting to reveal the mechanisms and rules through which networks of RNA-binding proteins can regulate multiple parallel pathways. Identification...

... rates and amino acid choice. Exploring the role of selection at the DNA and RNA level, we specifically address how the need (i) to specify exonic splice enhancer motifs in pre-mRNA, and (ii) to ensure nucleosome positioning on DNA have an impact on amino acid choice and rates of evolution. For both, we...

... is premature translation termination and the key question is: what distinguishes premature from normal translation termination? Surprisingly, in mammalian cells, PTC recognition is linked to pre-mRNA splicing. Here, we review the current understanding in view of recent developments. 19 2 2008 ©...

... the possibility that p68 may serve as a common link between the transcription initiation/elongation and splicing machinery. It is likely that these RNA-processing activities are strongly connected to efficient transcriptional co-regulation, and p68 could be part of a ‘molecular link’ that involves the coupling...

... partners of gephyrin have been identified. The mechanisms by which these interactions occur are unclear at present. Alternative splicing has been proposed to contribute to gephyrin's functional diversity within single cells as well as in different cell types and tissues. The function of the C5′ cassette...

...A. Krämer; F. Ferfoglia; C.-J. Huang; F. Mulhaupt; D. Nesic; G. Tanackovic Human splicing factor SF3a is a part of the 17 S U2 snRNP (small nuclear ribonucleoprotein), which interacts with the pre-mRNA branch site early during spliceosome formation. The SF3a subunits of 60, 66 and 120 kDa are all...

... that affect pre-mRNA splicing and degradation, small nucleolar RNA, tRNA processing, rRNA processing and mRNA degradation. These activities suggest RNA chaperone-like roles for Lsm proteins, affecting RNA–RNA and/or RNA–protein interactions. This article reviews the properties of the Sm and Lsm proteins...

...P.J. Grabowski Alternative pre-mRNA splicing is frequently used to expand the protein-coding capacity of genomes, and to regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. It is a significant challenge to decipher the molecular language of tissue-specific splicing because the inherent...

...T. R. Cech In 1982 we reported the first catalytic RNA or ribozyme: the self-splicing intron of the Tetrahymena pre-rRNA. Additional examples of natural ribozymes were soon found, and research in the field focused on their enzymic mechanism and secondary and tertiary structure. Ribozymes identified...