Abstract
As a pivotal regulator of 5’ splice site recognition, U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (U1 snRNP)-specific protein C (U1C) regulates pre-mRNA splicing by interacting with other components of the U1 snRNP complex. Previous studies have shown that U1 snRNP and its components are linked to a variety of diseases, including cancer. However, the phylogenetic relationships and expression profiles of U1C have not been studied systematically. To this end, we identified a total of 110 animal U1C genes and compared them to homologues from yeast and plants. Bioinformatics analysis shows that the structure and function of U1C proteins is relatively conserved and is found in multiple copies in a few members of the U1C gene family. Furthermore, the expression patterns reveal that U1Cs have potential roles in cancer progression and human development. In summary, our study presents a comprehensive overview of the animal U1C gene family, which can provide fundamental data and potential cues for further research in deciphering the molecular function of this splicing regulator.
Highlights
Discovered in the late 1970s, precursor messenger RNA splicing, including constitutive splicing and alternative splicing, is an important biological process in eukaryotes (van den Hoogenhof et al, 2016) (Berget et al, 1977)
To understand the evolutionary history and phylogenetic relationships between the above 110 identified U1C genes, a rooted phylogenetic tree of the family was constructed based on multiple protein sequences alignment (Supplementary Figure S4, left panel and Supplementary Figure S2), showing four major clades, namely, placentals, marsupials, monotremes and reptiles, fish and other species
Five members of the yellow clade with longer branch length formed the basal part of the circle phylogenetic tree, suggesting its distant association with other clades
Summary
Discovered in the late 1970s, precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) splicing, including constitutive splicing and alternative splicing, is an important biological process in eukaryotes (van den Hoogenhof et al, 2016) (Berget et al, 1977) This process is performed by a large protein complex called the spliceosome, which removes noncoding sequences (introns) and ligates functional coding sequences (exons) to generate mature mRNAs (Ellis et al, 2008). The U1 snRNP-mediated recognition of downstream 5’ splice sites of introns is the first step accomplished by a subcomplex during spliceosome assembly: the subcomplex is composed of one U1 snRNA, 8-9 Sm proteins and three specific proteins, including U1-70K, U1A. The U1C protein is associated with the Ul snRNP and plays a unique role in recognizing the 5’ splice site independently of base pairing (Du and Rosbash, 2002) (Heinrichs et al, 1990)
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