Matrin3 is an RNA-binding protein that is localized in the nuclear matrix. Although various roles in RNA metabolism have been reported for Matrin3, in vivo target RNAs to which Matrin3 binds directly have not been investigated comprehensively so far. Here, we show that Matrin3 binds predominantly to intronic regions of pre-mRNAs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Mol Biol
September 2015
The systematic identification of in vivo targets of nuclear RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) is crucial to elucidate the physiological functions of each RBP. However, it has been difficult to distinguish real targets from nonspecifically bound RNAs and to determine the exact binding sites of each RBP by using a conventional RNA-immunoprecipitation (RIP) method. Photoactivatable Ribonucleoside-Enhanced Cross-linking and Immunoprecipitation (PAR-CLIP) is a recently developed method that relies on RNA-protein cross-linking to reduce the contamination of nonspecifically bound RNAs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhy do people behave altruistically toward others, even in situations where nobody would observe their behavior? We formulated the following hypothesis regarding this question: "Reputations are decided by behaviors in situations that nobody can observe, rather than by behaviors in situations that can be observed by others." The validity of this hypothesis was examined through a Prisoner's Dilemma experiment. In the first stage, participants played the Prisoner's Dilemma game in a situation where nobody could observe them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoRNase (Nrn) specifically degrades nucleoside 3',5'-bisphosphate and the very short RNA, nanoRNA, during the final step of mRNA degradation. The crystal structure of Nrn in complex with a reaction product GMP was determined. The overall structure consists of two domains that are interconnected by a flexible loop and form a cleft.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecJ-like proteins belonging to the DHH family have been proposed to function as oligoribonucleases and 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphate (pAp) phosphatases in bacteria and archaea, which do not have Orn (oligoribonuclease) and CysQ (pAp phosphatase) homologs. In this study, we analyzed the biochemical and physiological characterization of the RecJ-like protein TTHA0118 from Thermus thermophilus HB8. TTHA0118 had high enzymatic activity as an oligodeoxyribonucleotide- and oligoribonucleotide-specific exonuclease and as pAp phosphatase.
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