The inability of the Psammechinus miliaris H3 RNA to be processed in the Xenopus oocyte is associated with sequences distinct from those highly conserved amongst sea urchin histone RNAs.

3' processing of precursors of the H3 RNA of the sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris in Xenopus oocytes is dependent upon sea urchin U7 snRNA. Sequences necessary for this interaction are highly conserved in all sea urchin histone precursor RNAs (including the Psammechinus H3) which, in contrast, are efficiently processed in the Xenopus oocyte without the addition of the homologous U7 snRNA. We resolve this seeming paradox by demonstrating here that the inability of the sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris H3 histone RNA to be processed in the Xenopus oocyte is associated with nucleotides immediately 3' to the conserved downstream sea urchin histone sequence element. Thus, a sequence-specific element (or lack of it) is responsible for the poor recognition of the Psammechinus H3 precursor RNA by the Xenopus processing machinery.     

The cDNA sequences of the sea urchin U7 small nuclear RNA suggest specific contacts between histone mRNA precursor and U7 RNA during RNA processing.

3' Processing of sea urchin H3 histone pre-mRNA depends on a small nuclear RNP which contains an RNA of nominally 60 nucleotide length, referred to below as U7 RNA. The U7 RNA can be enriched by precipitation of sea urchin U-snRNPs with human systematic lupus erythematosus antiserum of the Sm serotype. We have prepared cDNA clones of U7 RNA and determined by hybridization techniques that this RNA is present in sea urchin eggs at 30-fold lower molar concentration than U1 RNA. The RNA sequences derived from an analysis of eight U7 cDNA clones show neither homologies nor complementarities to any other know U-RNAs. The 3' portion of the presumptive RNA sequence can be folded into a stem-loop structure. The 5'-terminal sequences would be largely unstructured as free RNA. Their most striking feature is their base complementarity to the 3' conserved sequences of histone pre-mRNAs. Six out of nine bases of the conserved CAAGAAAGA sequence of the histone mRNA precursor and 13 out of 16 nucleotides from the conserved palindrome can be base paired with presumptive U7 RNA sequence, suggesting a unique hybrid structure for a processing intermediate formed from histone precursor and U7 RNA.     

Structure of the sea urchin U1 RNA repeat.

The genes coding for U1 RNA in the sea urchin L. variegatus are present in a 1400 base pair tandem repeat. One member of the repeat has been cloned and its sequence determined. The repeat unit contains a single copy of the gene for L. variegatus U1 RNA. This gene encodes an RNA which is 75% homologous to mammalian U1 RNA. The L. variegatus U1 RNA could assume a secondary structure similar to that proposed for other U1 RNAs. In addition the L. variegatus U1 RNA is precipitated by anti-SM and anti-RNP antisera. Analysis of the L. variegatus genomic DNA using the cloned U1 gene as a probe reveals a major and a minor type of repeat unit. The two repeated units are the same length but differ in a number of restriction enzyme sites clustered 200-500 bases down-stream from the gene. The monomer we have cloned and sequenced is a representative of the minor repeat. A sequence (GATAA) which is -41 to -37 bases 5' to the gene has homology to the putative RNA polymerase II promoter. Fifteen bases 3' of the gene is a sequence (CAAAGAAAGAAAA) which is very similar to the sequence found 3' of the sea urchin histone genes. The two Hha I, Hpa II and Ava I sites in the repeat are all unmethylated in sperm DNA.     

A regulatory sequence near the 3'' end of sea urchin histone genes.

The 3' flanking sequences of all five histone genes have been sequenced in the histone DNA clone h19 of the sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris. A large (23 bp) and a small (10 bp) conserved sequence was found by sequence comparison, some 29-40 bp downstream from the termination codon. 12 bases of the larger homology block show a dyad symmetry. The available sequences of clone h22 of the same species and those of the histone clones pSp2 and pSp17 of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, another sea urchin species, fit well into this comparison. Two types of sequences are involved in the dyad symmetry; one is H1, H3 and H4 specific, the other is H2A and H2B specific. If these conserved sequences are transcribed, a hairpin loop could form in the RNA molecules. This secondary structure might serve as a recognition signal for a regulatory protein.     

Tripartite sequences within and 3'' to the sea urchin H2A histone gene display properties associated with a transcriptional termination process.

We have defined a DNA sequence that behaves as an RNA polymerase II termination signal by using the human HeLa cell transient expression system. Surprisingly, this sequence is tripartite, including part of the coding region of the sea urchin H2A histone gene together with two separate sequences in the 3' flanking region of the gene. We demonstrate that this signal functions both in its normal gene environment and also when placed within the human alpha-globin gene. However, we have failed to detect a discrete 3' terminus. Rather, our data indicate the presence of an extremely heterogeneous series of nonpolyadenylated RNAs. These heterogeneous nonpolyadenylated RNAs are stable when transcribed from the intact histone gene but are highly unstable within the human alpha-globin gene. This provides evidence for the role of poly(A) in the stability of mRNA.