Skip to main content
PMC home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1988 Nov;85(21):7932–7936. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.21.7932

A 22-nucleotide spliced leader sequence in the human parasitic nematode Brugia malayi is identical to the trans-spliced leader exon in Caenorhabditis elegans.

A M Takacs 1, J A Denker 1, K G Perrine 1, P A Maroney 1, T W Nilsen 1
PMCID: PMC282327  PMID: 3186698

Abstract

The mRNAs encoding a 63-kDa antigen in the human parasitic nematode Brugia Malayi contain a spliced leader sequence of 22 nucleotides (nt) that is identical to the trans-spliced leader found on certain actin mRNAs in the distantly related nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The 22-nt sequence does not appear to be encoded near the 63-kDa genes but is present in multiple copies in several locations within the parasite genome, including the 5S rRNA gene repeat. The 5S-linked copies of the 22-nt sequence are transcribed to yield a 109-nt nonpolyadenylated RNA with the 22-nt leader sequence at its 5' end. We suggest that the 22-nt leader is acquired by 63-kDa antigen mRNAs through trans-splicing. These results indicate that trans-splicing is widespread in nematodes and argue for the functional significance of the 22-nt spliced leader exon in nematode mRNA metabolism.

Full text

PDF
7932

Images in this article

7933Image
on p.7933
7934Image
on p.7934
7935Image
on p.7935

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ash L. R., Riley J. M. Development of subperiodic Brugia malayi in the jird, Meriones unguiculatus, with notes on infections in other rodents. J Parasitol. 1970 Oct;56(5):969–973. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bektesh S. L., Hirsh D. I. C. elegans mRNAs acquire a spliced leader through a trans-splicing mechanism. Nucleic Acids Res. 1988 Jun 24;16(12):5692–5692. doi: 10.1093/nar/16.12.5692. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Borst P. Discontinuous transcription and antigenic variation in trypanosomes. Annu Rev Biochem. 1986;55:701–732. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.55.070186.003413. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hori H., Osawa S. Origin and evolution of organisms as deduced from 5S ribosomal RNA sequences. Mol Biol Evol. 1987 Sep;4(5):445–472. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040455. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Koller B., Fromm H., Galun E., Edelman M. Evidence for in vivo trans splicing of pre-mRNAs in tobacco chloroplasts. Cell. 1987 Jan 16;48(1):111–119. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90361-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Krause M., Hirsh D. A trans-spliced leader sequence on actin mRNA in C. elegans. Cell. 1987 Jun 19;49(6):753–761. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90613-1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Maxam A. M., Gilbert W. Sequencing end-labeled DNA with base-specific chemical cleavages. Methods Enzymol. 1980;65(1):499–560. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(80)65059-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Mount S. M. A catalogue of splice junction sequences. Nucleic Acids Res. 1982 Jan 22;10(2):459–472. doi: 10.1093/nar/10.2.459. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Murphy W. J., Watkins K. P., Agabian N. Identification of a novel Y branch structure as an intermediate in trypanosome mRNA processing: evidence for trans splicing. Cell. 1986 Nov 21;47(4):517–525. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90616-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Nelson D. W., Honda B. M. Genes coding for 5S ribosomal RNA of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Gene. 1985;38(1-3):245–251. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(85)90224-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Nilsen T. W., Maroney P. A., Goodwin R. G., Perrine K. G., Denker J. A., Nanduri J., Kazura J. W. Cloning and characterization of a potentially protective antigen in lymphatic filariasis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 May;85(10):3604–3607. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.10.3604. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Perrine K. G., Denker J. A., Nilsen T. W. A multi-copy gene encodes a potentially protective antigen in Brugia malayi. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 1988 Jul;30(1):97–104. doi: 10.1016/0166-6851(88)90137-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Southern E. M. Detection of specific sequences among DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. J Mol Biol. 1975 Nov 5;98(3):503–517. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(75)80083-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sutton R. E., Boothroyd J. C. Evidence for trans splicing in trypanosomes. Cell. 1986 Nov 21;47(4):527–535. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90617-3. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES