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Conversion of a trans‐spliced C. elegans gene into a conventional gene by introduction of a splice donor site.
Author(s) -
Conrad R.,
Liou R.F.,
Blumenthal T.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1993.tb05766.x
Subject(s) - biology , gene , splice , genetics , rna splicing , alternative splicing , trans splicing , exon , rna
In Caenorhabditis elegans, pre‐mRNAs that are trans‐spliced are distinguished by the presence of an ‘outron’, intron‐like RNA at the 5′ end followed by a splice acceptor. We report that trans‐splicing of the rol‐6 gene can be completely suppressed simply by introducing a donor site into its 173 nt outron, at a site 50 nt upstream of the trans‐splice site, thereby converting rol‐6 into a conventional gene with a spliced intron near its 5′ end. When the consensus donor site was inserted at sites further upstream it was less effective in replacing transplicing with cis‐splicing. Surprisingly, the length of the intron was not the important variable, since lengthening of the 50 nt intron to 250 nt did not restore trans‐splicing. Apparently the context into which the splice site was introduced determined the efficiency of its use. These results support the conclusion that the sole signal for trans‐splicing is the presence of an outron. Clearly, cis‐ and trans‐splice acceptor sites are interchangeable, allowing the possibility of competition between the two types of splicing.