Exon tethering in transcription by RNA polymerase II.

Journal article

There is an emerging consensus that RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) transcription and pre-mRNA processing are tightly coupled events. We show here that exons flanking an intron that has been engineered to be co-transcriptionally cleaved are accurately and efficiently spliced together. These data underline the close coupling of processes in the initial stages of protein-encoding gene expression and provide evidence for a molecular tether connecting emergent splice sites in the pre-mRNA to transcribing RNA Pol II. This observation suggests that for some genes a continuous intron transcript is not required for pre-mRNA splicing in vivo.

Authors: Dye, M; Gromak, N; Proudfoot, N

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Molecular cell
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 849-859
• Publication date: 2006-03-01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2006.01.032
• EISSN: 1097-4164
• ISSN: 1097-2765
• Language: English
• Keywords: Promoter Regions, Genetic; Exons; RNA, Messenger; Transcription, Genetic; Animals; RNA Splicing; Hela Cells; Globins; Introns; Models, Biological; RNA, Catalytic; RNA Precursors; RNA Polymerase II; Transfection; Humans