[PDF] Analysis Of The Regulation Of Alternative Splicing Of Myosin Alkali Light Chain Transcipts In Drosophila Melanogaster eBook

Author : Becky Marlene Miller
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Page : 336 pages
File Size : 45,77 MB
Release : 2004
Category : Drosophila melanogaster
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Drosophila melanogaster has a single myosin alkali light chain gene which encodes for two protein isoforms by developmentally regulated alternative splicing of the primary transcript. All six of the exons in the gene are present in the mRNA of larval muscles and the tubular and abdominal muscles of the adults. A novel mRNA species present exclusively in the adult and pupal Indirect Flight Muscle (IFM) lacks the fifth exon, thus encoding a MLC-ALK isoform with a variant carboxyl terminus. All introns of the transcript contain the established concensus splicing signals with the exception of intron 4. In this intron, a non-canonical polypurine stretch replaces the concensus polypyrimidine, rendering it a likely regulatory site. Because the transcripts are colinear with the gene throughout development the alternative splicing pattern in the IFM appears to be regulated at the level of splice site choice. The goal of this research is to identify the cis-regulatory sequences that control the choice between alternative larval and IFM-specific splicing pathways. I have developed a transient expression system for Drosophila Schneider 2 cultured cells utilizing the Drosophila metallothionein promoter to direct transcription of transfected MLC-ALK minigenes. This analysis demonstrated that the larval-specific splicing pathway represents the default splicing of the MLC-ALK transcripts. Analysis of mutant minigene transcripts revealed that splicing in the IFM-specific pathway is not the result of blockage or incapacitation of either splice acceptor or/and donor sequences flanking exon 5. The structures of the mutant mRNAs suggest that utilization of the IFM-specific pathway requires trans-acting factors which are absent in the cultured cells. Furthermore, analysis of mutant and hybrid minigene transcripts identified a unique cis-regulatory sequence proximal to the splice donor of intron 4, required for efficient utilization of the larval-specific splicing pathway. Mutations in intron 4 inhibit removal of the downstream intron 5 suggesting that an ordered pathway of intron removal is employed for larval-specific splicing. On the basis of these results a model of the mechanism of tissue and temporal regulation of alternative splicing of the MLC-ALK transcripts is presented.

Author : Dorothy Dianne Hodges
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Page : 558 pages
File Size : 50,51 MB
Release : 1992
Category : Drosophila melanogaster
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Up to 480 isoforms of Drosophila muscle myosin heavy chain (MHC) can be generated by the process of alternative splicing. In order to better understand the regulation of MHC expression, we have analyzed the alternative splicing of MHC 3' end transcripts in vitro and in vivo. In Chapter 1 we describe the development and use of a Drosophila in-vitro splicing system to study the alternative splicing of penultimate exon 18. We demonstrate that pre-mRNA is spliced to exclude exon 18, as occurs in embryonic and larval muscle in vivo. However, when the 5' and 3' splice sites of exon 18 are modified to improve their binding to constitutive splicing factors, exon 18 is efficiently spliced to both flanking exons, as occurs in adult muscles in vivo. In Chapter 2 we express similarly modified transcripts in vivo using P element mediated germ line transformation. Mini-gene transcripts in which both splice sites of exon 18 are improved are now spliced to include exon 18 in larvae, as well as in adults. This is a complete splicing switch; all mRNAs typical of the normal larval splicing pattern have been eliminated. We also demonstrate that the correct 3' splice site of exon 18 is not utilized by the larval splicing machinery, even when the competing downstream 3' splice site is eliminated. Analysis of MHC [Delta] Int 17 mini-gene transcript splicing determined that intron 17 sequences are needed for intron 18 removal in larvae and adults. We also present results of cloning and sequencing the distantly related D. virilis MHC gene. Large stretches of non-coding sequences within exon 18 and a pyrimidine rich element in intron 17 are conserved between the D. virilis and D. melanogaster MHC genes. Mini-gene transcripts lacking most of the conserved exon 18 sequences were spliced in the correct stage-specific manner in vivo. However, analysis of splicing of mini-gene transcripts lacking the polypyrimidine sequence confirmed that it is essential for correct inclusion of exon 18 in adult mRNA, and suggests that binding of adult-specific, transacting factors to this element may mediate recognition and utilization of the weak 3' splice site of exon 18.

Author :
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Page : 520 pages
File Size : 11,25 MB
Release : 1992
Category : Drosophila melanogaster
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Up to 480 isoforms of Drosophila muscle myosin heavy chain (MHC) can be generated by the process of alternative splicing. In order to better understand the regulation of MHC expression, we have analyzed the alternative splicing of MHC 3' end transcripts in vitro and in vivo. In Chapter 1 we describe the development and use of a Drosophila in-vitro splicing system to study the alternative splicing of penultimate exon 18. We demonstrate that pre-mRNA is spliced to exclude exon 18, as occurs in embryonic and larval muscle in vivo. However, when the 5' and 3' splice sites of exon 18 are modified to improve their binding to constitutive splicing factors, exon 18 is efficiently spliced to both flanking exons, as occurs in adult muscles in vivo. In Chapter 2 we express similarly modified transcripts in vivo using P element mediated germ line transformation. Mini-gene transcripts in which both splice sites of exon 18 are improved are now spliced to include exon 18 in larvae, as well as in adults. This is a complete splicing switch; all mRNAs typical of the normal larval splicing pattern have been eliminated. We also demonstrate that the correct 3' splice site of exon 18 is not utilized by the larval splicing machinery, even when the competing downstream 3' splice site is eliminated. Analysis of MHC [Delta] Int 17 mini-gene transcript splicing determined that intron 17 sequences are needed for intron 18 removal in larvae and adults. We also present results of cloning and sequencing the distantly related D. virilis MHC gene. Large stretches of non-coding sequences within exon 18 and a pyrimidine rich element in intron 17 are conserved between the D. virilis and D. melanogaster MHC genes. Mini-gene transcripts lacking most of the conserved exon 18 sequences were spliced in the correct stage-specific manner in vivo. However, analysis of splicing of mini-gene transcripts lacking the polypyrimidine sequence confirmed that it is essential for correct inclusion of exon 18 in adult mRNA, and suggests that binding of adult-specific, transacting factors to this element may mediate recognition and utilization of the weak 3' splice site of exon 18.

Author : Jefferson Matthew Taliaferro
Publisher :
Page : 167 pages
File Size : 48,36 MB
Release : 2012
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The patterns and mechanisms by which eukaryotic cells regulate the expression of their genetic information are highly complex and intricate. The transmittance of this information from nuclear repository to cytoplasmic translation contains within it several steps, including the selective removal and concomitant joining of pieces of information in a process called alternative splicing. The projects detailed within this document describe the regulation of alternative splicing through the interaction of specific proteins with specific pre-mRNA transcripts. The Rio lab has studied PSI, a protein involved in the regulation of the P element transposase transcript, for many years. It has since been shown to regulate the splicing of hundreds of other transcripts. The experiments described here look at the organization of PSI and other proteins on the P element transcript by site-specific labeling of the transcript using radioactive 32P. We also investigate two phosphorylation events of PSI, identifying the kinases responsible and demonstrate that these events may change the protein-protein interaction partners of PSI. It has become increasingly apparent that alternative splicing may not only be regulated by protein/RNA interactions, but also by RNA/RNA interactions. To probe this, we designed experiments to test if some well-known small RNA-associated proteins are regulating alternative splicing. Using splice junction microarrays, we determined that Argonaute-2 (Ago-2) regulated the splicing of over 100 splice junctions, and further experiments using ChIP-seq and mRNA-seq of Ago-2 mutants revealed that Ago-2 also has a role in transcriptional repression, possibly through being incorporating in complexes composed of polycomb-group genes. We also used CLIP-seq to determine the RNA binding profile and preferences of Ago-2 in Drosophila tissue culture cells. Finally, we characterized the functions of a Drosophila specific splicing factor called LS2. LS2 is orthologous to the highly conserved splicing factor dU2AF50, but its origin through retroduplication and subsequent divergence to acquire distinct sequence specificity, expression pattern, and function show it to be an interesting case in the evolution of alternative splicing regulation. This may be a mechanism that underlies the existence of some members of the large families of splicing factors, including hnRNP proteins and SR proteins. That is, by duplicating functional copies of genes, cellular systems create new proteins to tinker with and acquire new functions while keeping the former functionality and stability of the parent protein. While these projects are essentially independent of each other, they all fall under the umbrella of protein regulation of RNA metabolism and hopefully contribute to a more complete understanding of the regulation of gene expression.