Abstract
We have previously characterized nuclear cDNA clones encoding two RNA binding proteins, CP-RBP30 and CP-RBP-31, which are targeted to chloroplasts in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. In this report we describe the analysis of the 3′-untranslated regions (3′-UTRs) in 22 CP-RBP30 and 8 CP-RBP31 clones which reveals that mRNAs encoding both proteins have a very complex polyadenylation pattern. Fourteen distinct poly(A) sites were identified among CP-RBP30 clones and four sites among the CP-RBP31 clones. The authenticity of the sites was confirmed by RNase A/T1 mapping of N. plumbaginifolia RNA. CP-RBP30 provides an extreme example of the heterogeneity known to be a feature of mRNA polyadenylation in higher plants. Using PCR we have demonstrated that CP-RBP genes in N. plumbaginifolia and N. sylvestris, in addition to the previously described introns interrupting the coding region, contain an intron located in the 3′ non-coding part of the gene. In the case of the CP-RBP31, we have identified one polyadenylation event ocurring in this intron.
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Klahre, U., Hemmings-Mieszczak, M. & Filipowicz, W. Extreme heterogeneity of polyadenylation sites in mRNAs encoding chloroplast RNA-binding proteins in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia . Plant Mol Biol 28, 569–574 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00020402
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00020402