In vitro characterization of the splicing efficiency and fidelity of the RmInt1 group II intron as a means of controlling the dispersion of its host mobile element

U5 snRNA Interactions With Exons Ensure Splicing Precision

Imperfect conservation of human pre-mRNA splice sites is necessary to produce alternative isoforms. This flexibility is combined with the precision of the message reading frame. Apart from intron-termini GU_AG and the branchpoint A, the most conserved are the exon-end guanine and +5G of the intron start. Association between these guanines cannot be explained solely by base-pairing with U1 snRNA in the early spliceosome complex. U6 succeeds U1 and pairs +5G in the pre-catalytic spliceosome, while U5 binds the exon end. Current U5 snRNA reconstructions by CryoEM cannot explain the conservation of the exon-end G. Conversely, human mutation analyses show that guanines of both exon termini can suppress splicing mutations. Our U5 hypothesis explains the mechanism of splicing precision and the role of these conserved guanines in the pre-catalytic spliceosome. We propose: (1) optimal binding register for human exons and U5-the exon junction positioned at U5Loop1 C₃₉|C₃₈; (2) common mechanism for base-pairing of human U5 snRNA with diverse exons and bacterial Ll.LtrB intron with new loci in retrotransposition-guided by base pair geometry; and (3) U5 plays a significant role in specific exon recognition in the pre-catalytic spliceosome. Statistical analyses showed increased U5 Watson-Crick pairs with the 5'exon in the absence of +5G at the intron start. In 5'exon positions -3 and -5, this effect is specific to U5 snRNA rather than U1 snRNA of the early spliceosome. Increased U5 Watson-Crick pairs with 3'exon position +1 coincide with substitutions of the conserved -3C at the intron 3'end. Based on mutation and X-ray evidence, we propose that -3C pairs with U2 G₃₁ juxtaposing the branchpoint and the 3'intron end. The intron-termini pair, formed in the pre-catalytic spliceosome to be ready for transition after branching, and the early involvement of the 3'intron end ensure that the 3'exon contacts U5 in the pre-catalytic complex. We suggest that splicing precision is safeguarded cooperatively by U5, U6, and U2 snRNAs that stabilize the pre-catalytic complex by Watson-Crick base pairing. In addition, our new U5 model explains the splicing effect of exon-start +1G mutations: U5 Watson-Crick pairs with exon +2C/+3G strongly promote exon inclusion. We discuss potential applications for snRNA therapeutics and gene repair by reverse splicing.

The molecular structure of long non-coding RNAs: emerging patterns and functional implications

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are recently-discovered transcripts that regulate vital cellular processes and are crucially connected to diseases. Despite their unprecedented molecular complexity, it is emerging that lncRNAs possess distinct structural motifs. Remarkably, the 3D shape and topology of full-length, native lncRNAs have been visualized for the first time in the last year. These studies reveal that lncRNA structures dictate lncRNA functions. Here, we review experimentally determined lncRNA structures and emphasize that lncRNA structural characterization requires synergistic integration of computational, biochemical and biophysical approaches. Based on these emerging paradigms, we discuss how to overcome the challenges posed by the complex molecular architecture of lncRNAs, with the goal of obtaining a detailed understanding of lncRNA functions and molecular mechanisms in the future.

Visualizing group II intron dynamics between the first and second steps of splicing

Group II introns are ubiquitous self-splicing ribozymes and retrotransposable elements evolutionarily and chemically related to the eukaryotic spliceosome, with potential applications as gene-editing tools. Recent biochemical and structural data have captured the intron in multiple conformations at different stages of catalysis. Here, we employ enzymatic assays, X-ray crystallography, and molecular simulations to resolve the spatiotemporal location and function of conformational changes occurring between the first and the second step of splicing. We show that the first residue of the highly-conserved catalytic triad is protonated upon 5’-splice-site scission, promoting a reversible structural rearrangement of the active site (toggling). Protonation and active site dynamics induced by the first step of splicing facilitate the progression to the second step. Our insights into the mechanism of group II intron splicing parallels functional data on the spliceosome, thus reinforcing the notion that these evolutionarily-related molecular machines share the same enzymatic strategy.

Group II introns are self-splicing ribozymes. Here, the authors employ enzymatic assay, X-ray crystallography and molecular dynamics simulations to show that protonation of the group II intron catalytic triad plays an important role for the transition from the first to the second step of splicing.

DNA cleavage and reverse splicing of ribonucleoprotein particles reconstituted in vitro with linear RmInt1 RNA

The RmInt1 group II intron is an efficient self-splicing mobile retroelement that catalyzes its own excision as lariat, linear and circular molecules. In vivo, the RmInt1 lariat and the reverse transcriptase (IEP) it encodes form a ribonucleoprotein particle (RNP) that recognizes the DNA target for site-specific full intron insertion via a two-step reverse splicing reaction. RNPs containing linear group II intron RNA are generally thought to be unable to complete the reverse splicing reaction. Here, we show that reconstituted in vitro RNPs containing linear RmInt1 ΔORF RNA can mediate the cleavage of single-stranded DNA substrates in a very precise manner with the attachment of the intron RNA to the 3´exon as the first step of a reverse splicing reaction. Notably, we also observe molecules in which the 5´exon is linked to the RmInt1 RNA, suggesting the completion of the reverse splicing reaction, albeit rather low and inefficiently. That process depends on DNA target recognition and can be successful completed by RmInt1 RNPs with linear RNA displaying 5´ modifications.

Molecular roles and function of circular RNAs in eukaryotic cells

Protein-coding and noncoding genes in eukaryotes are typically expressed as linear messenger RNAs, with exons arranged colinearly to their genomic order. Recent advances in sequencing and in mapping RNA reads to reference genomes have revealed that thousands of genes express also covalently closed circular RNAs. Many of these circRNAs are stable and contain exons, but are not translated into proteins. Here, we review the emerging understanding that both, circRNAs produced by co- and posttranscriptional head-to-tail "backsplicing" of a downstream splice donor to a more upstream splice acceptor, as well as circRNAs generated from intronic lariats during colinear splicing, may exhibit physiologically relevant regulatory functions in eukaryotes. We describe how circRNAs impact gene expression of their host gene locus by affecting transcriptional initiation and elongation or splicing, and how they partake in controlling the function of other molecules, for example by interacting with microRNAs and proteins. We conclude with an outlook how circRNA dysregulation affects disease, and how the stability of circRNAs might be exploited in biomedical applications.

Functionality of In vitro Reconstituted Group II Intron RmInt1-Derived Ribonucleoprotein Particles

The functional unit of mobile group II introns is a ribonucleoprotein particle (RNP) consisting of the intron-encoded protein (IEP) and the excised intron RNA. The IEP has reverse transcriptase activity but also promotes RNA splicing, and the RNA-protein complex triggers site-specific DNA insertion by reverse splicing, in a process called retrohoming. In vitro reconstituted ribonucleoprotein complexes from the Lactococcus lactis group II intron Ll.LtrB, which produce a double strand break, have recently been studied as a means of developing group II intron-based gene targeting methods for higher organisms. The Sinorhizobium meliloti group II intron RmInt1 is an efficient mobile retroelement, the dispersal of which appears to be linked to transient single-stranded DNA during replication. The RmInt1IEP lacks the endonuclease domain (En) and cannot cut the bottom strand to generate the 3' end to initiate reverse transcription. We used an Escherichia coli expression system to produce soluble and active RmInt1 IEP and reconstituted RNPs with purified components in vitro. The RNPs generated were functional and reverse-spliced into a single-stranded DNA target. This work constitutes the starting point for the use of group II introns lacking DNA endonuclease domain-derived RNPs for highly specific gene targeting methods.

Host Factors Influencing the Retrohoming Pathway of Group II Intron RmInt1, Which Has an Intron-Encoded Protein Naturally Devoid of Endonuclease Activity

Bacterial group II introns are self-splicing catalytic RNAs and mobile retroelements that have an open reading frame encoding an intron-encoded protein (IEP) with reverse transcriptase (RT) and RNA splicing or maturase activity. Some IEPs carry a DNA endonuclease (En) domain, which is required to cleave the bottom strand downstream from the intron-insertion site for target DNA-primed reverse transcription (TPRT) of the inserted intron RNA. Host factors complete the insertion of the intron. By contrast, the major retrohoming pathway of introns with IEPs naturally lacking endonuclease activity, like the Sinorhizobium meliloti intron RmInt1, is thought to involve insertion of the intron RNA into the template for lagging strand DNA synthesis ahead of the replication fork, with possible use of the nascent strand to prime reverse transcription of the intron RNA. The host factors influencing the retrohoming pathway of such introns have not yet been described. Here, we identify key candidates likely to be involved in early and late steps of RmInt1 retrohoming. Some of these host factors are common to En⁺ group II intron retrohoming, but some have different functions. Our results also suggest that the retrohoming process of RmInt1 may be less dependent on the intracellular free Mg²⁺ concentration than those of other group II introns.

Circularization pathway of a bacterial group II intron

Group II introns are large RNA enzymes that can excise as lariats, circles or in a linear form through branching, circularization or hydrolysis, respectively. Branching is by far the main and most studied splicing pathway while circularization was mostly overlooked. We previously showed that removal of the branch point A residue from Ll.LtrB, the group II intron from Lactococcus lactis, exclusively leads to circularization. However, the majority of the released intron circles harbored an additional C residue of unknown origin at the splice junction. Here, we exploited the Ll.LtrB-ΔA mutant to study the circularization pathway of bacterial group II introns in vivo. We demonstrated that the non-encoded C residue, present at the intron circle splice junction, corresponds to the first nt of exon 2. Intron circularization intermediates, harboring the first 2 or 3 nts of exon 2, were found to accumulate showing that branch point removal leads to 3′ splice site misrecognition. Traces of properly ligated exons were also detected functionally confirming that a small proportion of Ll.LtrB-ΔA circularizes accurately. Overall, our data provide the first detailed molecular analysis of the group II intron circularization pathway and suggests that circularization is a conserved splicing pathway in bacteria.

The Ll.LtrB intron from Lactococcus lactis excises as circles in vivo: insights into the group II intron circularization pathway

Group II introns are large ribozymes that require the assistance of intron-encoded or free-standing maturases to splice from their pre-mRNAs in vivo. They mainly splice through the classical branching pathway, being released as RNA lariats. However, group II introns can also splice through secondary pathways like hydrolysis and circularization leading to the release of linear and circular introns, respectively. Here, we assessed in vivo splicing of various constructs of the Ll.LtrB group II intron from the Gram-positive bacterium Lactococcus lactis. The study of excised intron junctions revealed, in addition to branched intron lariats, the presence of perfect end-to-end intron circles and alternatively circularized introns. Removal of the branch point A residue prevented Ll.LtrB excision through the branching pathway but did not hinder intron circle formation. Complete intron RNA circles were found associated with the intron-encoded protein LtrA forming nevertheless inactive RNPs. Traces of double-stranded head-to-tail intron DNA junctions were also detected in L. lactis RNA and nucleic acid extracts. Some intron circles and alternatively circularized introns harbored variable number of non-encoded nucleotides at their splice junction. The presence of mRNA fragments at the splice junction of some intron RNA circles provides insights into the group II intron circularization pathway in bacteria.