Project name: Trypanosoma brucei brucei

Description: The parasite Trypanosoma brucei is the causative agent of African sleeping sickness and is known for its unique RNA processing mechanisms which are common to all the kinetoplastidea including Leishmania and Trypanosoma cruzi. Trypanosomes possess two canonical RNA poly (A) polymerases termed PAP1 and PAP2. PAP1 is encoded by one of the only two genes harboring cis-spliced introns in this organism and its function is currently unknown. In trypanosomes all mRNAs, as well as non-coding RNAs such as small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), undergo trans-splicing and polyadenylation. Here, we show that the function of PAP1, which is located in the nucleus, is to polyadenylate non-coding RNAs, which undergo trans-splicing and polyadenylation. Major substrates of PAP1 are the small nucleolar RNAs and long non-coding RNAs. Under silencing of either PAP1 or PAP2 the level of snoRNAs is reduced. The dual polyadenylation of snoRNA intermediates is carried out by both PAP2 and PAP1 and requires the factors essential for polyadenylation of mRNAs. The dual polyadenylation of the precursor snoRNAs by PAPs may function to recruit the machinery essential for snoRNA processing.

Data type: transcriptome

Sample scope: Monoisolate

Relevance: ModelOrganism

Last updated: 2017-05-04