Open AccessThe cap of both miniexon-derived RNA and mRNA of trypanosomes is 7-methylguanosine.
Author(s) -
Richard E. Sutton,
John C. Boothroyd
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
molecular and cellular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.14
H-Index - 327
eISSN - 1067-8824
pISSN - 0270-7306
DOI - 10.1128/mcb.8.1.494
Subject(s) - biology , rna , trans splicing , rna splicing , messenger rna , precursor mrna , five prime cap , base pair , microbiology and biotechnology , directionality , genetics , rna editing , biochemistry , dna , gene
Most, if not all, trypanosome mRNAs have the same 35-base sequence at their 5' terminus which is derived from a short RNA (medRNA) probably by the process of trans-splicing. It is of interest, evolutionarily and mechanistically, to determine the chemical structure of the 5' terminus of the precursor (medRNA) and product (mRNA). We demonstrate here that the cap structure of both is most probably 7-methylguanosine in a 5',5' triphosphate linkage, consistent with a precursor/product relationship.