Role of the box C/D motif in localization of small nucleolar RNAs to coiled bodies and nucleoli.

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are a large family of eukaryotic RNAs that function within the nucleolus in the biogenesis of ribosomes. One major class of snoRNAs is the box C/D snoRNAs named for their conserved box C and box D sequence elements. We have investigated the involvement of cis-acting sequences and intranuclear structures in the localization of box C/D snoRNAs to the nucleolus by assaying the intranuclear distribution of fluorescently labeled U3, U8, and U14 snoRNAs injected into Xenopus oocyte nuclei. Analysis of an extensive panel of U3 RNA variants showed that the box C/D motif, comprised of box C', box D, and the 3' terminal stem of U3, is necessary and sufficient for the nucleolar localization of U3 snoRNA. Disruption of the elements of the box C/D motif of U8 and U14 snoRNAs also prevented nucleolar localization, indicating that all box C/D snoRNAs use a common nucleolar-targeting mechanism. Finally, we found that wild-type box C/D snoRNAs transiently associate with coiled bodies before they localize to nucleoli and that variant RNAs that lack an intact box C/D motif are detained within coiled bodies. These results suggest that coiled bodies play a role in the biogenesis and/or intranuclear transport of box C/D snoRNAs.     

Distribution of U3 small nucleolar RNA and fibrillarin during early embryogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans

U3 small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) is one of the members of the box C/D class of snoRNA and is essential for ribosomal RNA (rRNA) processing to generate 18S rRNA in the nucleolus. Although U3 snoRNA is abundant, and is well conserved from yeast to mammals, the genes encoding U3 snoRNA in C. elegans have long remained unidentified. A recent RNomics study in C. elegans predicted five distinct U3 snoRNA genes. However, characterization of these candidates for U3 snoRNA has yet to be performed. In this study, we isolated and characterized four candidate RNAs for U3 snoRNA from the immunoprecipitated RNAs of C. elegans using an antibody against the 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine (TMG) cap. The sequences were identical to the predicted U3 sequences in the RNomics study. Here, we show the several lines of evidence that the isolated RNAs are the true U3 snoRNAs of C. elegans. Moreover, we report the novel expression pattern of U3 snoRNA and fibrillarin, which is an essential component of U3 small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein complex, during early embryo development of C. elegans. To our knowledge, this is the first observation of the inconsistent localization U3 snoRNA and fibrillarin during early embryogenesis, providing novel insight into the mechanisms of nucleologenesis and ribosome production during early embryogenesis.     

M Phase Phosphoprotein 10 Is a Human U3 Small Nucleolar Ribonucleoprotein Component

We have previously developed a novel technique for isolation of cDNAs encoding M phase phosphoproteins (MPPs). In the work described herein, we further characterize MPP10, one of 10 novel proteins that we identified, with regard to its potential nucleolar function. We show that by cell fractionation, almost all MPP10 was found in isolated nucleoli. By immunofluorescence, MPP10 colocalized with nucleolar fibrillarin and other known nucleolar proteins in interphase cells but was not detected in the coiled bodies stained for either fibrillarin or p80 coilin, a protein found only in the coiled body. When nucleoli were separated into fibrillar and granular domains by treatment with actinomycin D, almost all the MPP10 was found in the fibrillar caps, which contain proteins involved in rRNA processing. In early to middle M phase of the cell cycle, MPP10 colocalized with fibrillarin to chromosome surfaces. At telophase, MPP10 was found in cellular structures that resembled nucleolus-derived bodies and prenucleolar bodies. Some of these bodies lacked fibrillarin, a previously described component of nucleolus-derived bodies and prenucleolar bodies, however, and the bulk of MPP10 arrived at the nucleolus later than fibrillarin. To further examine the properties of MPP10, we immunoprecipitated it from cell sonicates. The resulting precipitates contained U3 small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) but no significant amounts of other box C/D snoRNAs. This association of MPP10 with U3 snoRNA was stable to 400 mM salt and suggested that MPP10 is a component of the human U3 small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein.     

Nuclear retention elements of U3 small nucleolar RNA

The processing and methylation of precursor rRNA is mediated by the box C/D small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs). These snoRNAs differ from most cellular RNAs in that they are not exported to the cytoplasm. Instead, these RNAs are actively retained in the nucleus where they assemble with proteins into mature small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein particles and are targeted to their intranuclear site of action, the nucleolus. In this study, we have identified the cis-acting sequences responsible for the nuclear retention of U3 box C/D snoRNA by analyzing the nucleocytoplasmic distributions of an extensive panel of U3 RNA variants after injection of the RNAs into Xenopus oocyte nuclei. Our data indicate the importance of two conserved sequence motifs in retaining U3 RNA in the nucleus. The first motif is comprised of the conserved box C' and box D sequences that characterize the box C/D family. The second motif contains conserved box sequences B and C. Either motif is sufficient for nuclear retention, but disruption of both motifs leads to mislocalization of the RNAs to the cytoplasm. Variant RNAs that are not retained also lack 5' cap hypermethylation and fail to associate with fibrillarin. Furthermore, our results indicate that nuclear retention of U3 RNA does not simply reflect its nucleolar localization. A fragment of U3 containing the box B/C motif is not localized to nucleoli but retained in coiled bodies. Thus, nuclear retention and nucleolar localization are distinct processes with differing sequence requirements.     

Intronic U14 snoRNAs of Xenopus laevis are located in two different parent genes and can be processed from their introns during early oogenesis.

U14 is a member of the rapidly growing family of intronic small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) that are involved in pre-rRNA processing and ribosome biogenesis. These snoRNA species are encoded within introns of eukaryotic protein coding genes and are synthesized via an intron processing pathway. Characterization of Xenopus laevis U14 snoRNA genes has revealed that in addition to the anticipated location of U14 within introns of the amphibian hsc70 gene (introns 4, 5 and 7), additional intronic U14 snoRNAs are also found in the ribosomal protein S13 gene (introns 3 and 4). U14 is thus far a unique intronic snoRNA in that it is encoded within two different parent genes of a single organism. Northern blot analysis revealed that U14 snoRNAs accumulate during early oocyte development and are rapidly expressed after the mid-blastula transition of developing embryos. Microinjection of hsc70 pre-mRNAs into developing oocytes demonstrated that oocytes as early as stages II and III are capable of processing U14 snoRNA from the pre-mRNA precursor. The ability of immature oocytes to process intronic snoRNAs is consistent with the observed accumulation of U14 during oocyte maturation and the developmentally regulated synthesis of rRNA during oogenesis.     

Identification of genes that function in the biogenesis and localization of small nucleolar RNAs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) orchestrate the modification and cleavage of pre-rRNA and are essential for ribosome biogenesis. Recent data suggest that after nucleoplasmic synthesis, snoRNAs transiently localize to the Cajal body (in plant and animal cells) or the homologous nucleolar body (in budding yeast) for maturation and assembly into snoRNPs prior to accumulation in their primary functional site, the nucleolus. However, little is known about the trans-acting factors important for the intranuclear trafficking and nucleolar localization of snoRNAs. Here, we describe a large-scale genetic screen to identify proteins important for snoRNA transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We performed fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis to visualize U3 snoRNA localization in a collection of temperature-sensitive yeast mutants. We have identified Nop4, Prp21, Tao3, Sec14, and Htl1 as proteins important for the proper localization of U3 snoRNA. Mutations in genes encoding these proteins lead to specific defects in the targeting or retention of the snoRNA to either the nucleolar body or the nucleolus. Additional characterization of the mutants revealed impairment in specific steps of U3 snoRNA processing, demonstrating that snoRNA maturation and trafficking are linked processes.     

Two different snoRNAs are encoded in introns of amphibian and human L1 ribosomal protein genes.

We previously reported that the third intron of the X.laevis L1 ribosomal protein gene encodes for a snoRNA called U16. Here we show that four different introns of the same gene contain another previously uncharacterized snoRNA (U18) which is associated with fibrillarin in the nucleolus and which originates by processing of the pre-mRNA. The pathway of U18 RNA release from the pre-mRNA is the same as the one described for U16: primary endonucleolytic cleavages upstream and downstream of the U18 coding region produce a pre-U18 RNA which is subsequently trimmed to the mature form. Both the gene organization and processing of U18 are conserved in the corresponding genes of X.tropicalis and H.sapiens. The L1 gene thus has a composite structure, highly conserved in evolution, in which sequences coding for a ribosomal protein are intermingled with sequences coding for two different snoRNAs. The nucleolar localization of these different components suggests some common function on ribosome biosynthesis.     

U3 snoRNA may recycle through different compartments of the nucleolus

A model is proposed in which U3 small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) is recruited from an inactive, stored form in the dense fibrillar component (DFC) of the nucleolus to an active form that is associated with the initial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) precursor. The initial steps of rRNA processing occur in the DFC, and then it is proposed that the U3 snoRNA moves with intermediates in rRNA processing from the DFC to the granular component (GC) of the nucleolus. The nucleolar protein fibrillarin is located primarily in the DFC, and it is suggested that the complex of fibrillarin and U3 snoRNA dissociates when U3 snoRNA transits to the GC. Finally, when U3 snoRNA is released from the processed rRNA, the tether holding the rRNA in the nucleolus is broken and rRNA can then be exported from the nucleolus to the cytoplasm. U3 snoRNA is hypothesized to recycle back from the GC to the DFC where it is stored until future association with another initial rRNA precursor. Data supporting this model are summarized. U3 snoRNA is also stored in the coiled body of interphase cells and in the nucleolar remnants and prenucleolar bodies of mitotic cells, and there may be some similarity in the binding sites for stored U3 snoRNA in the DFC and in these structures. Received: 16 September 1996 / Accepted: 11 November 1996     

A small nucleolar guide RNA functions both in 2'-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridylation of the U5 spliceosomal RNA

In eukaryotes, two distinct classes of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), namely the fibrillarin-associated box C/D snoRNAs and the Gar1p-associated box H/ACA snoRNAs, direct the site-specific 2'-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridylation of ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), respectively. We have identified a novel evolutionarily conserved snoRNA, called U85, which possesses the box elements of both classes of snoRNAs and associates with both fibrillarin and Gar1p. In vitro and in vivo pseudouridylation and 2'-O-methylation experiments provide evidence that the U85 snoRNA directs 2'-O-methylation of the C45 and pseudouridylation of the U46 residues in the invariant loop 1 of the human U5 spliceosomal RNA. The U85 is the first example of a snoRNA that directs modification of an RNA polymerase II-transcribed spliceosomal RNA and that functions both in RNA pseudouridylation and 2'-O-methylation.     

Fibrillarin genes encode both a conserved nucleolar protein and a novel small nucleolar RNA involved in ribosomal RNA methylation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Fibrillarin is a key nucleolar protein in eukaryotes which associates with box C/D small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) directing 2'-O-ribose methylation of the rRNA. In this study we describe two genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, AtFib1 and AtFib2, encoding nearly identical proteins conserved with eukaryotic fibrillarins. We demonstrate that AtFib1 and AtFib2 proteins are functional homologs of the yeast Nop1p (fibrillarin) and can rescue a yeast NOP1-null mutant strain. Surprisingly, for the first time in plants, we identified two isoforms of a novel box C/D snoRNA, U60.1f and U60.2f, nested in the fifth intron of AtFib1 and AtFib2. Interestingly after gene duplication the host intronic sequences completely diverged, but the snoRNA was conserved, even in other crucifer fibrillarin genes. We show that the U60f snoRNAs accumulate in seedlings and that their targeted residue on the 25 S rRNA is methylated. Our data reveal that the three modes of expression of snoRNAs, single, polycistronic, and intronic, exist in plants and suggest that the mechanisms directing rRNA methylation, dependent on fibrillarin and box C/D snoRNAs, are evolutionarily conserved in plants.     

Structure and function of the nucleolus.

The activity of the ribosomal RNA genes generates a distinct subnuclear structure, the nucleolus, which is the site of ribosome biogenesis. The signals that target proteins and snoRNAs (small nucleolar RNAs) to the nucleolus, the nuclear import of ribosomal proteins, the export of the completed ribosomal subunits and the molecular organization of the nucleolus have been the subject of intense research during the past year. Evidence is accumulating that nucleoli functionally interact with coiled bodies and are also involved in the maturation of non-ribosomal RNA species.     

Plant U13 orthologues and orphan snoRNAs identified by RNomics of RNA from Arabidopsis nucleoli

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and small Cajal body-specific RNAs (scaRNAs) are non-coding RNAs whose main function in eukaryotes is to guide the modification of nucleotides in ribosomal and spliceosomal small nuclear RNAs, respectively. Full-length sequences of Arabidopsis snoRNAs and scaRNAs have been obtained from cDNA libraries of capped and uncapped small RNAs using RNA from isolated nucleoli from Arabidopsis cell cultures. We have identified 31 novel snoRNA genes (9 box C/D and 22 box H/ACA) and 15 new variants of previously described snoRNAs. Three related capped snoRNAs with a distinct gene organization and structure were identified as orthologues of animal U13snoRNAs. In addition, eight of the novel genes had no complementarity to rRNAs or snRNAs and are therefore putative orphan snoRNAs potentially reflecting wider functions for these RNAs. The nucleolar localization of a number of the snoRNAs and the localization to nuclear bodies of two putative scaRNAs was confirmed by in situ hybridization. The majority of the novel snoRNA genes were found in new gene clusters or as part of previously described clusters. These results expand the repertoire of Arabidopsis snoRNAs to 188 snoRNA genes with 294 gene variants.     

Processing of the intron-encoded U16 and U18 snoRNAs: the conserved C and D boxes control both the processing reaction and the stability of the mature snoRNA.

A novel class of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), encoded in introns of protein coding genes and originating from processing of their precursor molecules, has recently been described. The L1 ribosomal protein (r-protein) gene of Xenopus laevis and its human homologue contain two snoRNAs, U16 and U18. It has been shown that these snoRNAs are excised from their intron precursors by endonucleolytic cleavage and that their processing is alternative to splicing. Two sequences, internal to the snoRNA coding region, have been identified as indispensable for processing the conserved boxes C and D. Competition experiments have shown that these sequences interact with diffusible factors which can bind both the pre-mRNA and the mature U16 snoRNA. Fibrillarin, which is known to associate with complexes formed on C and D boxes of other snoRNAs, is found in association with mature U16 RNA, as well as with its precursor molecules. This fact suggests that the complex formed on the pre-mRNA remains bound to U16 throughout all the processing steps. We also show that the complex formed on the C and D boxes is necessary to stabilize mature snoRNA.     

Complete genomic structure of human rpS3: identification of functional U15b snoRNA in the fifth intron

Analysis of the complete genomic structure of the human ribosomal protein S3 (rpS3) gene revealed the presence of a functional U15b snoRNA gene in its intron. Human ribosomal protein S3 (rpS3) gene of 6115 bp long has been identified to contain six introns and seven exons in this study. The first and fifth introns of human S3 gene contain functional U15 snoRNA genes. Although Xenopus and Fugu counterparts also have six introns and seven exons, S3 gene of Fugu contains two functional U15 snoRNAs in the fourth and sixth introns and two pseudo genes for U15 snoRNAs in the first and fifth introns. In Xenopus S1 gene encoding ribosomal protein S3, however, three of its six introns contain U15 snoRNA gene sequence. Sequence comparison of the U15 genes from Xenopus, Fugu and human revealed that the regions involved in binding to 28S rRNA and the consensus sequence (C, D and D' boxes) for snoRNAs are highly conserved among those genes from these three species. Human U15a and U15b RNAs which are derived from the first and the fifth introns, respectively, have been identified to be functional by microinjection of human U15a and U15b snoRNAs into Xenopus oocyte. Northern blot and primer extension analyses confirm that human U15b snoRNA is expressed in vivo.