Investigating the role of the U2 and U6 snRNAs in exon ligation during pre-mRNA splicing

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The DNA of a cell is copied into a pre-messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) that the cell uses as a template for protein production. All the information contained in DNA is not required for making proteins, therefore, unwanted information must be removed before a protein is made. The unwanted information is removed, or 'spliced', from pre-mRNA by a process similar to the editing of unwanted frames from a film. This 'splicing' of the pre-mRNA is very important because it must occur accurately in order for functional proteins to be produced. A mistake by even one nucleotide could have disastrous effects on the final protein produced. The process of 'splicing' is carried out by a large RNA/protein complex called the spliceosome. The spliceosome interacts with the pre-mRNA to identify and 'splice' out the unwanted regions. An increasing amount of evidence points to the RNA components of the spliceosome as being critical for the actual cutting process of splicing. The work that will be undertaken during the tenure of this research grant will address how the RNA components of the spliceosome interact with each other and the pre-mRNA to identify then 'splice' out the unwanted regions. This is basic research that will contribute to our knowledge of a critical cellular process.