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Molecular and Cellular Biology, March 1999, p. 1853-1863, Vol. 19, No. 3
0270-7306/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Substrate Specificities of SR Proteins in Constitutive Splicing Are Determined by Their RNA Recognition Motifs and Composite Pre-mRNA Exonic Elements

Akila Mayeda,1,dagger Gavin R. Screaton,2 Sharon D. Chandler,3 Xiang-Dong Fu,3 and Adrian R. Krainer1,*

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724-22081; Molecular Immunology Group, Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom2; and Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California---San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-06513

Received 24 September 1998/Returned for modification 10 November 1998/Accepted 23 November 1998

We report striking differences in the substrate specificities of two human SR proteins, SF2/ASF and SC35, in constitutive splicing. beta -Globin pre-mRNA (exons 1 and 2) is spliced indiscriminately with either SR protein. Human immunodeficiency virus tat pre-mRNA (exons 2 and 3) and immunoglobulin µ-chain (IgM) pre-mRNA (exons C3 and C4) are preferentially spliced with SF2/ASF and SC35, respectively. Using in vitro splicing with mutated or chimeric derivatives of the tat and IgM pre-mRNAs, we defined specific combinations of segments in the downstream exons, which mediate either positive or negative effects to confer SR protein specificity. A series of recombinant chimeric proteins consisting of domains of SF2/ASF and SC35 in various combinations was used to localize trans-acting domains responsible for substrate specificity. The RS domains of SF2/ASF and SC35 can be exchanged without effect on substrate specificity. The RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) of SF2/ASF are active only in the context of a two-RRM structure, and RRM2 has a dominant role in substrate specificity. In contrast, the single RRM of SC35 can function alone, but its substrate specificity can be influenced by the presence of an additional RRM. The RRMs behave as modules that, when present in different combinations, can have positive, neutral, or negative effects on splicing, depending upon the specific substrate. We conclude that SR protein-specific recognition of specific positive and negative pre-mRNA exonic elements via one or more RRMs is a crucial determinant of the substrate specificity of SR proteins in constitutive splicing.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, P.O. Box 100, 1 Bungtown Rd., Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724-2208. Phone: (516) 367-8417. Fax: (516) 367-8453. E-mail: krainer{at}cshl.org.

dagger Present address: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136-1019.


Molecular and Cellular Biology, March 1999, p. 1853-1863, Vol. 19, No. 3
0270-7306/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



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