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A systematic analysis of the factors that determine the strength of pre‐mRNA splicing enhancers
Author(s) -
Graveley Brenton R.,
Hertel Klemens J.,
Maniatis Tom
Publication year - 1998
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 - 10.1093/emboj/17.22.6747
Subject(s) - divinity , biology , theology , philosophy
We find that the strength of splicing enhancers is determined by the relative activities of the bound serine‐arginine (SR)‐rich splicing factors, the number of SR proteins within the enhancer complex and the distance between the enhancer and the intron. Remarkably, the splicing activity of the bound SR proteins is directly proportional to the number of RS tetrapeptide sequences within the RS domain. Quantitative analysis of the effects of varying the distance between the enhancer and the intron revealed that the splicing efficiency is directly proportional to the calculated probability of a direct interaction between the enhancer complex and the 3′ splice site. These data are consistent with a model in which splicing enhancers function by increasing the local concentration of SR proteins in the vicinity of the nearby intron through RNA looping.