All-atom simulations disentangle the functional dynamics underlying gene maturation in the intron lariat spliceosome
- Autori: Casalino L.; Palermo G.; Spinello A.; Rothlisberger U.; Magistrato A.
- Anno di pubblicazione: 2018
- Tipologia: Articolo in rivista
- Parole Chiave: Gene maturation; Molecular dynamics; RNA; Spliceosome; Splicing; Introns; Magnesium; Models, Molecular; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Motion; Principal Component Analysis; Protein Conformation; RNA Precursors; RNA Splicing; RNA, Fungal; RNA, Small Nuclear; Repressor Proteins; Ribonucleoprotein, U5 Small Nuclear; Schizosaccharomyces; Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; Spliceosomes; Static Electricity; Computer Simulation; Models, Genetic; Nucleic Acid Conformation
- OA Link: http://hdl.handle.net/10447/535347
Abstract
The spliceosome (SPL) is a majestic macromolecular machinery composed of five small nuclear RNAs and hundreds of proteins. SPL removes noncoding introns from precursor messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs) and ligates coding exons, giving rise to functional mRNAs. Building on the first SPL structure solved at near–atomic-level resolution, here we elucidate the functional dynamics of the intron lariat spliceosome (ILS) complex through multi-microsecond-long molecular-dynamics simulations of ∼1,000,000 atoms models. The ILS essential dynamics unveils (i) the leading role of the Spp42 protein, which heads the gene maturation by tuning the motions of distinct SPL components, and (ii) the critical participation of the Cwf19 protein in displacing the intron lariat/ U2 branch helix. These findings provide unprecedented details on the SPL functional dynamics, thus contributing to move a step forward toward a thorough understanding of eukaryotic pre-mRNA splicing.