{"id":25284,"date":"2012-03-18T06:24:04","date_gmt":"2012-03-18T05:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?p=25284"},"modified":"2024-11-14T16:28:47","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T15:28:47","slug":"need-for-speed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/need-for-speed\/","title":{"rendered":"Need for speed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like any law-abiding train passenger, a molecule called oskar<\/em> RNA carries a stamped ticket detailing its destination and form of transport, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have found. They show that for this molecule, moving in the right direction isn\u2019t enough: speed is of the essence. Their study, published online today in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology<\/em>, also provides clues as to how a single molecule could receive tickets for different destinations, depending on what type of cell it is in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a fruit fly embryo to develop properly, oskar<\/em> RNA produced by the mother has to enter the egg cell, or oocyte, as it matures, and be taken to one of its ends \u2013 the posterior pole. Researchers in Anne Ephrussi\u2019s group at EMBL have now found that this movement is more complicated than it seemed. When oskar<\/em> is processed for transport by a mechanism called splicing, two different tags \u2013 SOLE and EJC \u2013 are attached to it, next to each other, at a specific spot. Ephrussi and colleagues found that both tags have to be in place for oskar<\/em> to reach the right destination. Together, they seem to form a ticket that marks oskar<\/em> for transport to the posterior pole, differentiating it from the many other RNAs that enter the oocyte bound for different destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they genetically altered the SOLE tag, the scientists found that oskar<\/em> didn\u2019t go to the oocyte\u2019s posterior pole, as it should. But surprisingly, it did still move, and seemingly in the right direction. The problem, the researchers realised, was that oskar<\/em> is racing towards a moving target. As the oocyte grows, it becomes longer, in effect taking the posterior pole further and further away as oskar<\/em> is carried towards it. With a defective SOLE tag, oskar<\/em> seemed unable to move fast enough to overcome the oocyte\u2019s growth. So somehow this \u2018ticket\u2019 affects the speed of transport, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ephrussi and colleagues are now investigating how SOLE and EJC interact with each other, and how they might influence the cellular machinery that transports oskar<\/em>. The scientists would also like to explore an interesting possibility raised by their current findings. They discovered that the SOLE tag is only formed if the RNA molecule is spliced. Since some RNAs can be spliced at different spots along their length, this means the same RNA could potentially be issued with tickets for different destinations \u2013 for instance, in different cell types \u2013 depending on which parts of it are spliced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Source article<\/h3>\n

Ghosh, S., Marchand, V., G\u00e1sp\u00e1r, I. & Ephrussi, A. Control of RNP motility and localization by a splicing-dependent structure in oskar mRNA.\u00a0Nature Structural & Molecular Biology<\/em>, Advance Online Publication 18 March 2011.
\u00a0DOI: 10.1038\/nsmb.2257.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

oskar<\/em> RNA localization to the posterior pole of the Drosophila melanogaster<\/em> oocyte requires splicing of the first intron and the exon junction complex (EJC) core proteins. The functional link between splicing, EJC deposition and oskar<\/em> localization has been unclear. Here we demonstrate that the EJC associates with oskar<\/em> mRNA upon splicing in vitro and that Drosophila<\/em> EJC deposition is constitutive and conserved. Our in vivo analysis reveals that splicing creates the spliced oskar<\/em> localization element (SOLE), whose structural integrity is crucial for ribonucleoprotein motility and localization in the oocyte. Splicing thus has a dual role in oskar<\/em> mRNA localization: assembling the SOLE and depositing the EJC required for mRNA transport. The SOLE complements the EJC in formation of a functional unit that, together with the oskar<\/em> 3\u2032 UTR, maintains proper kinesin-based motility of oskar<\/em> mRNPs and posterior mRNA targeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like any law-abiding train passenger, a molecule called oskar RNA carries a stamped ticket detailing its destination and form of transport, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have found. They show that for this molecule, moving in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17591],"tags":[1934,665,833,1932],"embl_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-25284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","category-science-technology","tag-egg","tag-embryo","tag-fruit-fly","tag-oocyte"],"acf":{"show_featured_image":false,"vf_locked":false,"featured":false,"article_intro":"

Molecular ticket determines RNA\u2019s destination and speed inside egg cell<\/p>\n","article_sources":false,"related_links":false,"in_this_article":false,"color":"#007B53","youtube_url":"","mp4_url":"","video_caption":"","translations":false,"press_contact":"EMBL Generic"},"embl_taxonomy_terms":[],"yoast_head":"\nNeed for speed | EMBL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/need-for-speed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Need for speed | EMBL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Like any law-abiding train passenger, a molecule called oskar RNA carries a stamped ticket detailing its destination and form of transport, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have found. 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