Single-molecule fluorescence-based studies on the dynamics, assembly and catalytic mechanism of the spliceosome. (11th August 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Warnasooriya, Chandani; Rueda, David
• Is Part Of: Biochemical Society transactions. Volume 42:Number 4(2014)
• Page Start: 1211
• Page End: 1218
• Publication Date: 2014-08-11
• Subjects: co-localization single-molecule spectroscopy (CoSMoS) -- dynamics -- fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) -- pre-mRNA splicing -- single-molecule -- fluorescence -- splicessomal RNA; Biochemistry -- Congresses; 572
• DOI: 10.1042/BST20140105
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0300-5127

Abstract

Abstract : Pre-mRNA (precursor mRNA) splicing is a key step in cellular gene expression where introns are excised and exons are ligated together to produce mature mRNA. This process is catalysed by the spliceosome, which consists of five snRNPs (small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles) and numerous protein factors. Assembly of these snRNPs and associated proteins is a highly dynamic process, making it challenging to study the conformational rearrangements and spliceosome assembly kinetics in bulk studies. In the present review, we discuss recent studies utilizing techniques based on single-molecule detection that have helped overcome this challenge. These studies focus on the assembly dynamics and splicing kinetics in real-time, which help understanding of spliceosomal assembly and catalysis.