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Molecular and Cellular Biology, December 1998, p. 7537-7545, Vol. 18, No. 12
0270-7306/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

AUUUA Sequences Direct mRNA Deadenylation Uncoupled from Decay during Xenopus Early Development

Gia K. Voeltz and Joan A. Steitz*

Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06536

Received 6 July 1998/Returned for modification 21 July 1998/Accepted 23 August 1998

To study the regulation of AUUUA-mediated RNA deadenylation and destabilization during Xenopus early development, we microinjected chimeric mRNAs containing Xenopus or mammalian 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) sequences into Xenopus oocytes, mature eggs, or fertilized embryos. We found that the AU-rich elements (ARE) of Xenopus c-myc II and the human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor gene (GMCSF) both direct deadenylation of chimeric mRNAs in an AUUUA-dependent manner. In the case of the Xenopus c-myc II ARE, mutation of a single AUUUA within an absolutely conserved 11-nucleotide region in c-myc 3'-UTRs prevents ARE-mediated deadenylation. AUUUA-specific deadenylation appears to be developmentally regulated: low deadenylation activity is observed in the oocyte, whereas rapid deadenylation occurs following egg activation or fertilization. Deadenylation results in the accumulation of stable deadenylated RNAs that become degraded only following mid-blastula transition. We conclude that ARE-mediated mRNA deadenylation can be uncoupled from ARE-mediated mRNA decay and that AUUUAs directly signal deadenylation during Xenopus early development.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, 295 Congress Ave., New Haven, CT 06536. Phone: (203) 737-4417. Fax: (203) 624-8213. E-mail: joan.steitz{at}yale.edu.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, December 1998, p. 7537-7545, Vol. 18, No. 12
0270-7306/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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