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NTR 1 is required for transcription elongation checkpoints at alternative exons in Arabidopsis
Author(s) -
Dolata Jakub,
Guo Yanwu,
Kołowerzo Agnieszka,
Smoliński Dariusz,
Brzyżek Grzegorz,
Jarmołowski Artur,
Świeżewski Szymon
Publication year - 2015
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 - 10.15252/embj.201489478
Subject(s) - copernicus , biology , library science , computer science , astrobiology
The interconnection between transcription and splicing is a subject of intense study. We report that Arabidopsis homologue of spliceosome disassembly factor NTR 1 is required for correct expression and splicing of DOG1 , a regulator of seed dormancy. Global splicing analysis in atntr1 mutants revealed a bias for downstream 5′ and 3′ splice site selection and an enhanced rate of exon skipping. A local reduction in Pol II occupancy at misspliced exons and introns in atntr1 mutants suggests that directionality in splice site selection is a manifestation of fast Pol II elongation kinetics. In agreement with this model, we found At NTR 1 to bind target genes and co‐localise with Pol II . A minigene analysis further confirmed that strong alternative splice sites constitute an At NTR 1‐dependent transcriptional roadblock. Plants deficient in Pol II endonucleolytic cleavage showed opposite effects for splice site choice and Pol II occupancy compared to atntr1 mutants, and inhibition of Pol II elongation or endonucleolytic cleavage in atntr1 mutant resulted in partial reversal of splicing defects. We propose that At NTR 1 is part of a transcription elongation checkpoint at alternative exons in Arabidopsis .