Trypanosome mitochondrial 3' terminal uridylyl transferase (TUTase): the key enzyme in U-insertion/deletion RNA editing.

Aphasizhev, Ruslan; Sbicego, Sandro; Peris, Marian; Jang, Sei-Heon; Aphasizheva, Inna; Simpson, Agda M; Rivlin, Anatoly; Simpson, Larry · Cell · 2002

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

A 3' terminal RNA uridylyltransferase was purified from mitochondria of Leishmania tarentolae and the gene cloned and expressed from this species and from Trypanosoma brucei. The enzyme is specific for 3' U-addition in the presence of Mg(2+). TUTase is present in vivo in at least two stable configurations: one contains a approximately 500 kDa TUTase oligomer and the other a approximately 700 kDa TUTase complex. Anti-TUTase antiserum specifically coprecipitates a small portion of the p45 and p50 RNA ligases and approximately 40% of the guide RNAs. Inhibition of TUTase expression in procyclic T. brucei by RNAi downregulates RNA editing and appears to affect parasite viability.

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