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. 1999 Jun 1;18(11):3107–3118. doi: 10.1093/emboj/18.11.3107

Novel processing in a mammalian nuclear 28S pre-rRNA: tissue-specific elimination of an 'intron' bearing a hidden break site.

G J Melen 1, C G Pesce 1, M S Rossi 1, A R Kornblihtt 1
PMCID: PMC1171392  PMID: 10357822

Abstract

Splitting and apparent splicing of ribosomal RNA, both previously unknown in vertebrates, were found in rodents of the genus Ctenomys. Instead of being formed by a single molecule of 4.4 kb, 28S rRNA is split in two molecules of 2.6 and 1.8 kb. A hidden break, mapping within a 106 bp 'intron' located in the D6 divergent region, is expressed in mature ribosomes of liver, lung, heart and spleen, as well as in primary fibroblast cultures. Testis-specific processing eliminates the intron and concomitantly the break site, producing non-split 28S rRNA molecules exclusively in this organ. The intron is flanked by two 9 bp direct repeats, revealing the acquisition by insertion of a novel rRNA processing strategy in the evolution of higher organisms.

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