A View of Pre-mRNA Splicing from RNase R Resistant RNAs

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Hitoshi Suzuki¹ 

[1]Center for Nano Materials and Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292, Japan

关键词: pre-mRNA splicing;    RNase R;    circular RNA;    multiexon skipping;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms15069331

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

During pre-mRNA splicing, exons in the primary transcript are precisely connected to generate an mRNA. Intron lariat RNAs are formed as by-products of this process. In addition, some exonic circular RNAs (circRNAs) may also result from exon skipping as by-products. Lariat RNAs and circRNAs are both RNase R resistant RNAs. RNase R is a strong 3' to 5' exoribonuclease, which efficiently degrades linear RNAs, such as mRNAs and rRNAs; therefore, the circular parts of lariat RNAs and the circRNAs can be segregated from eukaryotic total RNAs by their RNase R resistance. Thus, RNase R resistant RNAs could provide unexplored splicing information not available from mRNAs. Analyses of these RNAs identified repeating splicing phenomena, such as re-splicing of mature mRNAs and nested splicing. Moreover, circRNA might function as microRNA sponges. There is an enormous variety of endogenous circRNAs, which are generally synthesized in cells and tissues.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.