An intronic polyadenylation site in human and mouse CstF-77 genes suggests an evolutionarily conserved regulatory mechanism

Gene. 2006 Feb 1;366(2):325-34. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2005.09.024. Epub 2005 Nov 28.

Abstract

Human CstF-77 is one of the three subunits of cleavage stimulation factor (CstF) that is essential for mRNA polyadenylation. Its Drosophila homologue, suppressor of forked [su(f)], contains an intronic poly(A) site, which can lead to a short transcript without a stop codon. By both bioinformatic searches and validation with molecular biology experiments, we found that human and mouse CstF-77 genes also contain an intronic poly(A) site, which can be utilized to produce short CstF-77 transcripts lacking sequences encoding domains that are involved in many of the CstF-77 functions. The genomic sequence surrounding the poly(A) site is highly conserved among all vertebrates, but is not present in non-vertebrate species. Using public Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) data, we found that the intronic poly(A) site is utilized in a wide range of tissues. This finding indicates that vertebrates may employ a similar alternative polyadenylation mechanism to modulate CstF-77, highlighting the importance of the regulation of CstF-77 in various species.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Alternative Splicing / genetics*
  • Animals
  • Cleavage Stimulation Factor / genetics*
  • Evolution, Molecular*
  • Humans
  • Introns / genetics*
  • Mice
  • Organ Specificity
  • Polyadenylation / genetics*
  • Protein Subunits / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • Species Specificity

Substances

  • Cleavage Stimulation Factor
  • Protein Subunits
  • RNA, Messenger