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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 280, Issue 42, 35085-35088, October 21, 2005

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An Intron-encoded Protein Assists RNA Splicing of Multiple Similar Introns of Different Bacterial Genes^*

From the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4H7, Canada

Four group II introns were found in an unusually intron-rich dnaN gene (encoding the subunit of DNA polymerase III) of the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium erythraeum, and they have strong similarities to two introns of the RIR gene (encoding ribonucleotide reductase) of the same organism. Of these six introns, only the RIR-3 intron encodes a maturase protein and showed efficient RNA splicing when expressed in Escherichia coli cells. The other five introns do not encode a maturase protein and did not show RNA splicing in E. coil. But these maturase-less introns showed efficient RNA splicing when the RIR-3 intron-encoded maturase protein was co-expressed from a freestanding gene in the same cell. These findings demonstrated that an intron-encoded protein could function as a general maturase for multiple introns of different genes. Major implications may include an intron-mediated co-regulation of the different genes and a resemblance of the evolutionary origin of spliceosomal introns.

Received for publication, July 29, 2005 , and in revised form, September 7, 2005.

^* This work was supported by a research grant from the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

¹ To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 902-494-1208; Fax: 902-494-1355; E-mail: pxqliu{at}dal.ca.

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