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. 1990 Apr;10(4):1769–1772. doi: 10.1128/mcb.10.4.1769

mRNAs that mature through trans-splicing in Caenorhabditis elegans have a trimethylguanosine cap at their 5' termini.

K Van Doren 1, D Hirsh 1
PMCID: PMC362283  PMID: 1690851

Abstract

Approximately 10% of the mRNAs in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans mature through a trans-splicing mechanism that involves the transfer of a 22-nucleotide spliced leader to the 5' end of the pre-mRNA. The spliced leader RNA exists as a small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle and has the trimethylguanosine cap that is characteristic of eucaryotic small nuclear RNAs. We found that the trimethylguanosine cap present on the spliced leader RNA was transferred to the pre-mRNA during the trans-splicing reaction. Thereafter, the trimethylguanosine cap was maintained on the mature mRNA. This is the first example of eucaryotic cellular mRNAs possessing a trimethylguanosine cap structure.

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Selected References

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

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