Polyadenylation of telomerase RNA in budding yeast.
Year: 1997
Type: article
Abstract: Telomerase RNA is a subunit of a stable ribonucleoprotein particle required for telomere replication. We find that, at steady state, 5-10% of the telomerase RNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces lactis contains a poly(A) tail of about 80 nt. In S. cerevisiae, the poly(A)+ fraction quickly disappeared when a conditional pap1 or rna15 mutant was shifted to the nonpermissive temperature, indicating that polyadenylation is accomplished by the same machinery that polyadenylates mRNAs. Potential cis-acting polyadenylation elements were identified in the telomerase RNA sequence; when they were mutagenized, the polyadenylation pattern shifted, but was not eliminated. The corresponding mutants displayed wild-type growth. By putting the RNA under the control of an inducible promoter, we were able to show that synthesis of the poly(A)+ RNA precedes that of the poly(A)- fraction. This supports, but does not prove, a model in which all telomerase RNA is first polyadenylated and then rapidly processed to give the stable poly(A)-form. Cell cycle arrest experiments showed an increase in the poly(A)+ form between G1 and S phase, consistent with an induction of telomerase RNA transcription at the time of DNA replication.
Source: Europe PMC (PubMed Central)
Language: English
Topic: RNA Research and Splicing
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2128132451