The Pseudouridine Residues of rRNA: Number, Location, Biosynthesis, and Function
Year: 2014
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: This chapter focuses on the pseudouridine (5-β-D-ribofuranosyluracil; Ψ) residues in rRNA. This subject has been reviewed previously both in a detailed analysis of the work on eukaryotic rRNA up to circa 1990, which also includes methylated nucleosides, and in a review of more recent work. The chapter talks about number and locations of Ψ in small-subunit (SSU) and large-subunit (LSU) rRNAs. Synthesis of cytoplasmic rRNAs in eukaryotic cells involves the action of a large population of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs). Site selection in each case involves base pairing of a guide snoRNA with the rRNA segment to be modified, and selection of a nucleotide located at a constant distance from an additional determinant(s) in the snoRNA. The two types of guide function are provided by snoRNAs in separate families known as the box C/D and H/ACA box families, respectively. Each family contains snoRNAs required for rRNA processing, but the main function of these RNAs is the modification of rRNA nucleotides. There is no firm evidence so far for an essential role for any in the cell, and a number of cases are known where deletion of a single Ψ has no obvious effect. It is likely that additional pseudouridine synthases will be identified and characterized and that they will come from new and familiar sources.
Source: ASM Press eBooks
Authors: James Ofengand, Maurille J. Fournier
Institutions: University of Miami, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Language: English
Topic: RNA modifications and cancer
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W611964048