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Titles listOn the complexity of chloroplast RNA metabolism: psaA trans-splicing can be bypassed in chlamydomonas
Titles listOn the complexity of chloroplast RNA metabolism: psaA trans-splicing can be bypassed in chlamydomonas
Scientific Article
unige:86343 
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On the complexity of chloroplast RNA metabolism: psaA trans-splicing can be bypassed in chlamydomonas |
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| Authors | ||
| Published in | Molecular Biology and Evolution. 2014, vol. 31, no. 10, p. 2697-2707 | |
| Abstract | In the chloroplast, the posttranscriptional steps of gene expression are remarkably complex. RNA maturation and translation rely on a large cohort of nucleus-encoded proteins that act specifically on a single target transcript or a small set of targets. For example in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas, trans-splicing of the two split introns of psaA requires at least 14 nucleus-encoded proteins. To investigate the functional significance of this complex trans-splicing pathway, we have introduced an intron-less copy of psaA in the chloroplast genomes of three mutants deficient in trans-splicing and of the wild type. We find that the intron-less psaA gene rescues the mutant phenotypes. The growth of strains with the intron-less psaA is indistinguishable from the wild type under the set of different experimental conditions that were investigated. Thus, the trans-splicing factors do not appear to have any other essential function and trans-splicing of psaA can be bypassed. We discuss how these observations support the hypothesis that complex RNA metabolism in the chloroplast may in part be the result of a nonadaptive evolutionary ratchet. Genetic drift may lead to the accumulation of chloroplast mutations and the recruitment of compensatory nuclear suppressors from large preexisting pools of genes encoding RNA-binding proteins. | |
| Keywords | chloroplast — RNA processing — splicing constructive neutral evolution — Chlamydomonas — synthetic biology | |
| Identifiers | PMID: 25053803 | |
| Full text | ||
| Structures | ||
| Research group | Groupe Goldschmidt-Clermont | |
| Project | FNS: 31003A_146300 and 3100A0-117712 | |
| Citation (ISO format) | LEGENDRE LEFEBVRE, Linnka et al. On the complexity of chloroplast RNA metabolism: psaA trans-splicing can be bypassed in chlamydomonas. In: Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2014, vol. 31, n° 10, p. 2697-2707. https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:86343 |
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