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Excision of Intron Sequences. Splicing. Removal of introns must be very precise. Conserved sequences for removal of the introns of nuclear mRNA genes are minimal. Dinucleotide sequences at the 5 ’ and 3 ’ ends of introns.
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Splicing • Removal of introns must be very precise. • Conserved sequences for removal of the introns of nuclear mRNA genes are minimal. • Dinucleotide sequences at the 5’ and 3’ ends of introns. • An A residue about 30 nucleotides upstream from the 3’ splice site is needed for lariat formation.
Types of Intron Excision • The introns of tRNA precursors are excised by precise endonucleolytic cleavage and ligation reactions catalyzed by special splicing endonuclease and ligase activities. • The introns of nuclear pre-mRNA (hnRNA) transcripts are spliced out in two-step reactions carried out by spliceosomes.
The Spliceosome • Five snRNAs: U1, U2, U4, U5, and U6 • Some snRNAs associate with proteins to form snRNAs (small nuclear ribonucleoproteins)
Logo for a) Splice acceptor b) Splice Donor c) Initiator Met
AG/GT CAG/NT exon 1 intron 1 exon 2 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2
SXL makes a functional protein in XX zygotes SXL makes a non-functional protein in XY zygotes
L is Late form made During cycle 14 E is Establisment form Made cycle 10 Where is RNA binding domain of SXL protein?
The Sxl protein in different Diptera species. Penalva L O F , and Sánchez L Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 2003;67:343-359
The Sxl protein in different Diptera species. Penalva L O F , and Sánchez L Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 2003;67:343-359
The Sxl protein in different Diptera species. Penalva L O F , and Sánchez L Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 2003;67:343-359
SXL makes a functional protein in XX zygotes SXL makes a non-functional protein in XYzygotes Event is initiated by Exons E1+ 4 No early form of protein, thus no SXL 1/2/4 form SXL 1/2/4 form
Zygotic transcription starts Cycle10-14 Cycle14+
~Cycle 9 Cycle10-14 Zygotic transcription starts Cycle14-and up
KEY SLIDE…Know it. Zygotic-X chromosome factors:XSEs 2x 1x Gro-maternal Dpn-Zygotic 2x difference Maternal gro Down regulated by Zygotic XSE proteins Zygotic deadpan Represses SxlPe with Maternal gro Development Development
Sex Determination in Drosophila and C. elegans • The sex determination signal in both animals is the ratio of X chromosomes to autosomes. If the ratio is 1.0 or greater, the animal is a female; if the ratio is 0.5 or less, the animal is a male.CLASSIC Definition • But wrong • In Drosophila, the key genes in sex determination encode proteins that regulate RNA processing.
Sex Determination in Drosophila • Components of the sex-determination pathway include • A system to ascertain the X:A ratio , • A system to covert this CONCEPTUAL ratio into a developmental signal, and • A system to respond to this signal by producing either male or female structures.
NOT CORRECT..from book Ascertaining the X:A Ratio • The system that ascertains the X:A ratio involves interactions between maternally synthesized proteins in the egg cytoplasm and embryonically synthesized proteins encoded by several X-linked genes. • The X-linked gene products are called numerator elements and are twice as abundant in XX embryos as in XY embryos. • The autosomal gene products are called denominator elements and antagonize the products of the numerator elements- NONE FOUND.
The Sex-lethal (Sxl) Gene • Sxl is the master regular of the sex determination pathway in Drosophila. • The X:A ratio is converted into a molecular signal that controls the expression of the X-linked Sxl gene.
Function of SXL • SXL regulates splicing of its own transcript to maintain SXL protein expression in XX embryos. • SXL also regulates splicing of the transformer (tra) gene.
Differentiating in Response to the Signal • TRA, along with TRA2, regulate splicing of doublesex (dsx) and fruitless (fru). • In XX embryos, where TRA is present, dsx transcripts are processed to encode a DSX protein that represses the genes for male development. • In XY embryos, where TRA is absent, dsx transcripts are processed to encode a DSX protein that represses the genes for female development.
Loss-of-Function Mutations in Sex-Determination Genes in Drosophila • Mutations in Sxl prevent SXL protein from being made in males; homozygous mutants would develop into males but die as embryos. • Mutations in transformer and transformer2 cause both XX and XY animals to develop into males. • Mutations in dsx cause both XX and XY embryos to develop into intersexes.
Key Points • In Drosophila the pathway that controls sexual differentiation involves some genes that ascertain the X:A ratio, some that convert this ratio into a developmental signal, and others that respond to the signal by producing either male or female structures. • The Sex-lethal (Sxl) gene plays a key role in Drosophila sexual development by regulating the splicing of its own transcript and that of another gene (tra).