Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Molecular and Cellular Biology logoLink to Molecular and Cellular Biology
. 1994 Aug;14(8):5360–5370. doi: 10.1128/mcb.14.8.5360

The concentration of B52, an essential splicing factor and regulator of splice site choice in vitro, is critical for Drosophila development.

M E Kraus 1, J T Lis 1
PMCID: PMC359055  PMID: 8035814

Abstract

B52 is a Drosophila melanogaster protein that plays a role in general and alternative splicing in vitro. It is homologous to the human splicing factor ASF/SF2 which is essential for an early step(s) in spliceosome assembly in vitro and also regulates 5' and 3' alternative splice site choice in a concentration-dependent manner. In vitro, B52 can function as both a general splicing factor and a regulator of 5' alternative splice site choice. Its activity in vivo, however, is largely uncharacterized. In this study, we have further characterized B52 in vivo. Using Western blot (immunoblot) analysis and whole-mount immunofluorescence, we demonstrate that B52 is widely expressed throughout development, although some developmental stages and tissues appear to have higher B52 levels than others do. In particular, B52 accumulates in ovaries, where it is packaged into the developing egg and is localized to nuclei by the late blastoderm stage of embryonic development. We also overexpressed this protein in transgenic flies in a variety of developmental and tissue-specific patterns to examine the effects of altering the concentration of this splicing factor in vivo. We show that, in many cell types, changing the concentration of B52 adversely affects the development of the organism. We discuss the significance of these observations with regard to previous in vitro results.

Full text

PDF
5360

Images in this article

5362Image
on p.5362
5362Image
on p.5362
5363Image
on p.5363
5364Image
on p.5364
5367Image
on p.5367
5368Image
on p.5368

Selected References

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

  1. Andreadis A., Gallego M. E., Nadal-Ginard B. Generation of protein isoform diversity by alternative splicing: mechanistic and biological implications. Annu Rev Cell Biol. 1987;3:207–242. doi: 10.1146/annurev.cb.03.110187.001231. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baker B. S. Sex in flies: the splice of life. Nature. 1989 Aug 17;340(6234):521–524. doi: 10.1038/340521a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bingham P. M., Chou T. B., Mims I., Zachar Z. On/off regulation of gene expression at the level of splicing. Trends Genet. 1988 May;4(5):134–138. doi: 10.1016/0168-9525(88)90136-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bradford M. M. A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem. 1976 May 7;72:248–254. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(76)90527-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Brand A. H., Perrimon N. Targeted gene expression as a means of altering cell fates and generating dominant phenotypes. Development. 1993 Jun;118(2):401–415. doi: 10.1242/dev.118.2.401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Breitbart R. E., Andreadis A., Nadal-Ginard B. Alternative splicing: a ubiquitous mechanism for the generation of multiple protein isoforms from single genes. Annu Rev Biochem. 1987;56:467–495. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.56.070187.002343. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Champlin D. T., Frasch M., Saumweber H., Lis J. T. Characterization of a Drosophila protein associated with boundaries of transcriptionally active chromatin. Genes Dev. 1991 Sep;5(9):1611–1621. doi: 10.1101/gad.5.9.1611. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Choi Y. D., Grabowski P. J., Sharp P. A., Dreyfuss G. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins: role in RNA splicing. Science. 1986 Mar 28;231(4745):1534–1539. doi: 10.1126/science.3952495. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Chou T. B., Zachar Z., Bingham P. M. Developmental expression of a regulatory gene is programmed at the level of splicing. EMBO J. 1987 Dec 20;6(13):4095–4104. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02755.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Dutton F. L., Jr, Chovnick A. The l(3)S12 locus of Drosophila melanogaster: heterochromatic position effects and stage-specific misexpression of the gene in P element transposons. Genetics. 1991 May;128(1):103–118. doi: 10.1093/genetics/128.1.103. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Fehon R. G., Johansen K., Rebay I., Artavanis-Tsakonas S. Complex cellular and subcellular regulation of notch expression during embryonic and imaginal development of Drosophila: implications for notch function. J Cell Biol. 1991 May;113(3):657–669. doi: 10.1083/jcb.113.3.657. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Fu X. D., Mayeda A., Maniatis T., Krainer A. R. General splicing factors SF2 and SC35 have equivalent activities in vitro, and both affect alternative 5' and 3' splice site selection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Dec 1;89(23):11224–11228. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.23.11224. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Fu X. D. Specific commitment of different pre-mRNAs to splicing by single SR proteins. Nature. 1993 Sep 2;365(6441):82–85. doi: 10.1038/365082a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ge H., Manley J. L. A protein factor, ASF, controls cell-specific alternative splicing of SV40 early pre-mRNA in vitro. Cell. 1990 Jul 13;62(1):25–34. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90236-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ge H., Zuo P., Manley J. L. Primary structure of the human splicing factor ASF reveals similarities with Drosophila regulators. Cell. 1991 Jul 26;66(2):373–382. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90626-a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Glaser R. L., Wolfner M. F., Lis J. T. Spatial and temporal pattern of hsp26 expression during normal development. EMBO J. 1986 Apr;5(4):747–754. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1986.tb04277.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Johansen K. M., Fehon R. G., Artavanis-Tsakonas S. The notch gene product is a glycoprotein expressed on the cell surface of both epidermal and neuronal precursor cells during Drosophila development. J Cell Biol. 1989 Nov;109(5):2427–2440. doi: 10.1083/jcb.109.5.2427. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kenan D. J., Query C. C., Keene J. D. RNA recognition: towards identifying determinants of specificity. Trends Biochem Sci. 1991 Jun;16(6):214–220. doi: 10.1016/0968-0004(91)90088-d. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Krainer A. R., Conway G. C., Kozak D. Purification and characterization of pre-mRNA splicing factor SF2 from HeLa cells. Genes Dev. 1990 Jul;4(7):1158–1171. doi: 10.1101/gad.4.7.1158. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Krainer A. R., Conway G. C., Kozak D. The essential pre-mRNA splicing factor SF2 influences 5' splice site selection by activating proximal sites. Cell. 1990 Jul 13;62(1):35–42. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90237-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Krainer A. R., Mayeda A., Kozak D., Binns G. Functional expression of cloned human splicing factor SF2: homology to RNA-binding proteins, U1 70K, and Drosophila splicing regulators. Cell. 1991 Jul 26;66(2):383–394. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90627-b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Lis J. T., Simon J. A., Sutton C. A. New heat shock puffs and beta-galactosidase activity resulting from transformation of Drosophila with an hsp70-lacZ hybrid gene. Cell. 1983 Dec;35(2 Pt 1):403–410. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90173-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Maniatis T. Mechanisms of alternative pre-mRNA splicing. Science. 1991 Jan 4;251(4989):33–34. doi: 10.1126/science.1824726. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Mayeda A., Krainer A. R. Regulation of alternative pre-mRNA splicing by hnRNP A1 and splicing factor SF2. Cell. 1992 Jan 24;68(2):365–375. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90477-t. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Mayeda A., Zahler A. M., Krainer A. R., Roth M. B. Two members of a conserved family of nuclear phosphoproteins are involved in pre-mRNA splicing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Feb 15;89(4):1301–1304. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.4.1301. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Mitchison T. J., Sedat J. Localization of antigenic determinants in whole Drosophila embryos. Dev Biol. 1983 Sep;99(1):261–264. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(83)90275-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Nagai K., Oubridge C., Jessen T. H., Li J., Evans P. R. Crystal structure of the RNA-binding domain of the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein A. Nature. 1990 Dec 6;348(6301):515–520. doi: 10.1038/348515a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Pirrotta V., Bickel S., Mariani C. Developmental expression of the Drosophila zeste gene and localization of zeste protein on polytene chromosomes. Genes Dev. 1988 Dec;2(12B):1839–1850. doi: 10.1101/gad.2.12b.1839. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Robertson H. M., Preston C. R., Phillis R. W., Johnson-Schlitz D. M., Benz W. K., Engels W. R. A stable genomic source of P element transposase in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 1988 Mar;118(3):461–470. doi: 10.1093/genetics/118.3.461. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Roth M. B., Zahler A. M., Stolk J. A. A conserved family of nuclear phosphoproteins localized to sites of polymerase II transcription. J Cell Biol. 1991 Nov;115(3):587–596. doi: 10.1083/jcb.115.3.587. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Rubin G. M., Spradling A. C. Genetic transformation of Drosophila with transposable element vectors. Science. 1982 Oct 22;218(4570):348–353. doi: 10.1126/science.6289436. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Scherly D., Boelens W., van Venrooij W. J., Dathan N. A., Hamm J., Mattaj I. W. Identification of the RNA binding segment of human U1 A protein and definition of its binding site on U1 snRNA. EMBO J. 1989 Dec 20;8(13):4163–4170. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb08601.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Simon J. A., Sutton C. A., Lobell R. B., Glaser R. L., Lis J. T. Determinants of heat shock-induced chromosome puffing. Cell. 1985 Apr;40(4):805–817. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(85)90340-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Smith C. W., Patton J. G., Nadal-Ginard B. Alternative splicing in the control of gene expression. Annu Rev Genet. 1989;23:527–577. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.23.120189.002523. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Spector D. L., Fu X. D., Maniatis T. Associations between distinct pre-mRNA splicing components and the cell nucleus. EMBO J. 1991 Nov;10(11):3467–3481. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb04911.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Steinmann-Zwicky M., Amrein H., Nöthiger R. Genetic control of sex determination in Drosophila. Adv Genet. 1990;27:189–237. doi: 10.1016/s0065-2660(08)60026-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Surowy C. S., van Santen V. L., Scheib-Wixted S. M., Spritz R. A. Direct, sequence-specific binding of the human U1-70K ribonucleoprotein antigen protein to loop I of U1 small nuclear RNA. Mol Cell Biol. 1989 Oct;9(10):4179–4186. doi: 10.1128/mcb.9.10.4179. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Tiong S. Y., Keizer C., Nash D., Bleskan J., Patterson D. Drosophila purine auxotrophy: new alleles of adenosine 2 exhibiting a complex visible phenotype. Biochem Genet. 1989 Jun;27(5-6):333–348. doi: 10.1007/BF00554168. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Wilson C., Pearson R. K., Bellen H. J., O'Kane C. J., Grossniklaus U., Gehring W. J. P-element-mediated enhancer detection: an efficient method for isolating and characterizing developmentally regulated genes in Drosophila. Genes Dev. 1989 Sep;3(9):1301–1313. doi: 10.1101/gad.3.9.1301. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Zahler A. M., Lane W. S., Stolk J. A., Roth M. B. SR proteins: a conserved family of pre-mRNA splicing factors. Genes Dev. 1992 May;6(5):837–847. doi: 10.1101/gad.6.5.837. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Zahler A. M., Neugebauer K. M., Lane W. S., Roth M. B. Distinct functions of SR proteins in alternative pre-mRNA splicing. Science. 1993 Apr 9;260(5105):219–222. doi: 10.1126/science.8385799. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Zamore P. D., Green M. R. Biochemical characterization of U2 snRNP auxiliary factor: an essential pre-mRNA splicing factor with a novel intranuclear distribution. EMBO J. 1991 Jan;10(1):207–214. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07937.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Zamore P. D., Green M. R. Identification, purification, and biochemical characterization of U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein auxiliary factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Dec;86(23):9243–9247. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.23.9243. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Molecular and Cellular Biology are provided here courtesy of Taylor & Francis

RESOURCES