A potential membrane protein involved in pre-tRNA splicing of Schizosaccharomyces pombe

초록

We had previously isolated six pre-tRNA splicing mutants of Schizosaccharomyces pombe named ptp1 to ptp6. To investigate the molecular mechanism of tRNA splicing, we cloned the ptp4+ gene by complementation of the temperature-sensitive growth defect. The ptp4+ gene consists of three exons and encodes a putative protein of 218 amino acids with a molecular mass of 24.4 kDa. Analysis of the amino acid sequence reveals that the protein is a potential membrane protein with four membrane-spanning regions. The ptp4+ shows significant similarity to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae putative protein YOR311C. Expression of the ptp4+ gene in the ptp4- mutant restores the ability to splice tRNA. Northern blot analysis showed that the ptp4+ gene is expressed in both mating-type cells of S. pombe. These results suggest that the Ptp4+ could be a component involved in tRNA splicing. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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