Functional characterization of a central domain of splicing factor Prp8 in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

• Applicant: Dr. Janina Görnemann
• Subject Area: General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology
• Term: from 2006 to 2008
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 23691376

Splicing, the process in which non-coding intronic sequence stretches are removed from pre-mRNA and the exons are joined together to the mature mRNA, is an essential event in eukaryotic gene expression. The precise and effective execution of this process is provided by the spliceosome that assembles on the pre-mRNA from ribonucleprotein-particles and protein factors for every splicing event. The general steps in spliceosome assembly, activation and catalysis of the splicing reaction are known from biochemical and genetic studies, but there are open questions concerning details of the process, including coordination and regulation of crucial rearrangements in the forming spliceosome. Prp8 is a highly conserved protein, that is thought to play a role in the coordination of events that lead to spliceosome activation. Though there is genetic evidence for this, it is not known how Prp8 fulfills its tasks. In the proposed project a central region of Prp8, which contains a putative RNA binding motif Janina Görnemann: Functional characterization of a Prp8 domain 2 and interacts genetically with other factors involved in spliceosome rearrangements, will be characterized concerning its RNA binding abilities and protein-protein interactions. The regulative function of Prp8 will be studied by determining its influence on the helicase Brr2 and effects of mutations in Brr2 on the rearrangement process. The characterization of the prp8 region will help to understand how this protein, and therefore a central process in spliceosome activation, work.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. David A. Brow