Year: 1999
Type: article
Abstract: A spliceosome is a molecular machine that catalyzes the precise excision of an intron from a pre–messenger RNA (pre-mRNA). A spliceosome rivals a ribosome in its complexity, consisting of five RNA components and up to 50 proteins (for review, see Burge et al. 1999). Prior to intron excision, the individual components of a spliceosome assemble onto an RNA substrate. In vitro studies have led to the current model of spliceosome assembly, which depicts a highly ordered sequential process resulting in the assembly of a molecular machine that harbors all of the components necessary for catalysis but is catalytically inactive. Activation of the assembled spliceosome requires a dramatic reorganization of the assembled components. It is as though the assembled spliceosome stands poised to cleave and reconfigure its substrate but remains idle until a “switch is flipped” that activates the machine. This review will focus on two papers in the January issue of Molecular Cell (Kuhn et al. 1999; Staley and Guthrie 1999) that contribute new insight on the identity, and mechanism of action, of components that “flip the switch” to activate the spliceosome.
Source: Cell
Authors: Heather L. Murray, Kevin A. Jarrell
Institutions: Boston University, Boston Medical Center
Language: English
Topic: RNA Research and Splicing
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $11,400
OpenAlex ID: W1994444072