UTRdb and UTRsite: specialized databases of sequences and functional elements of 5' and 3' untranslated regions of eukaryotic mRNAs

Molecular characterization of superoxide dismutase and catalase genes, and the induction of antioxidant genes under the zinc oxide nanoparticle-induced oxidative stress in air-breathing magur catfish (Clarias magur)

The deduced amino acid sequences from the complete cDNA coding sequences of three antioxidant enzyme genes (sod1, sod2, and cat) demonstrated that phylogenetically the magur catfish (Clarias magur) is very much close to other bony fishes with complete conservation of active site residues among piscine, amphibian, and mammalian species. The three-dimensional structures of three antioxidant enzyme proteins are very much similar to mammalian counterparts, thereby suggesting the functional similarities of these enzymes. Exposure to ZnO NPs resulted in an oxidative stress as evidenced by an initial sharp rise of intracellular concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and malondialdehyde (MDA) but decreased gradually at later stages. The level of glutathione (GSH) also increased gradually in all the tissues examined after an initial decrease. Biochemical and gene expression analyses indicated that the magur catfish has the ability to defend the ZnO NP-induced oxidative stress by inducing the SOD/CAT enzyme system and also the GSH-related enzymes that are mediated through the activation of various antioxidant-related genes both at the transcriptional and translational levels in various tissues. Furthermore, it appeared that the stimulation of NO, as a consequence of induction nos2 gene, under NP-induced oxidative stress serves as a modulator to induce the SOD/CAT system in various tissues of magur catfish as an antioxidant strategy. Thus, it can be contemplated that the magur catfish possesses a very efficient antioxidant defensive mechanisms to defend against the oxidative stress and also from related cellular damages during exposure to ZnO NPs into their natural environment.

Differential expression of multiple glutamine synthetase genes in air-breathing magur catfish, Clarias magur and their induction under hyper-ammonia stress

The present study demonstrates the unique presence of three different gs genes (cmgs01, cmgs02, and cmgs03) in air-breathing ureogenic magur catfish (Clarias magur), which is otherwise reported to be encoded by a single gene in higher vertebrates. Of these three genes, two (cmgs01and cmgs03) were identified as 'liver' form, predominantly expressed in liver cells, and the third one as 'brain' form (cmgs02), expressed chiefly in brain cells. Molecular characterization studies have revealed conservation of homologous active site residues in all the three gs genes. In silico analysis, accompanied by GS enzyme assay and Western blot analysis of different GS isoforms in different subcellular fractions indicated the mitochondrial localization of cmGS01 and cmGS03 in liver and kidney cells and cytosolic localization of cmGS02 in brain cells. Further, exposure of magur catfish to high external ammonia (HEA; 25 mM NH₄Cl) led to a significant induction of multiple gs genes as evidenced by higher expression of different gs mRNAs at variable levels in different tissues. The cmgs01 and cmgs03 mRNA levels elevated significantly in liver, kidney, muscle, and gills, whereas the cmgs02 mRNA level increased considerably in the brain after 14 days of exposure to HEA. These increases in mRNA levels were associated with a significant rise in cmGS01 and cmGS03 proteins in liver, kidney, muscle, and gills, and the cmGS02 protein in the brain after 14 days of exposure to HEA. Therefore, it can be concluded that the unique differential expression of three gs genes and their induction under high ammonia level probably helps in detoxification of ammonia to glutamine and further to urea via the ornithine-urea cycle in ureogenic as well as non-ureogenic tissues of these magur catfish.

Ribosome profiling reveals translational regulation of mammalian cells in response to hypoxic stress

Background

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells transfer oxygen and nutrients from choroid to the neural retina. Reduced oxygen to RPE perturbs development and functions of blood vessels in retina. Previous efforts of genome-wide studies have been largely focused on transcriptional changes of cells in response to hypoxia. Recently developed ribosome profiling provides an opportunity to study genome-wide translational changes. To gain systemic insights into the transcriptional and translational regulation of cellular in response to hypoxic stress, we used simultaneous RNA sequencing and ribosome profiling on an RPE cells line, ARPE-19, under hypoxia condition.

Results

Both HIF-1α and EPAS1 (HIF-2α) proteins were stabilized in ARPE-19 under hypoxic stress treatment at 1 h, 2 h and 4 h. Analysis of simultaneous RNA sequencing and ribosome profiling data showed genome-wide gene expression changes at both transcriptional and translational levels. Comparative analysis of ribosome profiling and RNA-seq data revealed that hypoxia induced changes of more genes at the translational than the transcriptional levels. Ribosomes densities at 5′ untranslated region (UTR) significantly increased under hypoxic stress. Interestingly, the increase in ribosome densities at 5′ UTR is positively correlated with the presence of upstream open reading frames (uORFs) in the 5′ UTR of mRNAs.

Conclusion

Our results characterized translational profiles of mRNAs for a RPE cell line in response to hypoxia. In particular, uORFs play important roles in the regulation of translation efficiency by affecting ribosomes loading onto mRNAs. This study provides the first attempt to understand translational response of mammalian cells under hypoxic condition.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-017-3996-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Computational Identification of Post Translational Modification Regulated RNA Binding Protein Motifs

RNA and its associated RNA binding proteins (RBPs) mitigate a diverse array of cellular functions and phenotypes. The interactions between RNA and RBPs are implicated in many roles of biochemical processing by the cell such as localization, protein translation, and RNA stability. Recent discoveries of novel mechanisms that are of significant evolutionary advantage between RBPs and RNA include the interaction of the RBP with the 3’ and 5’ untranslated region (UTR) of target mRNA. These mechanisms are shown to function through interaction of a trans-factor (RBP) and a cis-regulatory element (3’ or 5’ UTR) by the binding of a RBP to a regulatory-consensus nucleic acid motif region that is conserved throughout evolution. Through signal transduction, regulatory RBPs are able to temporarily dissociate from their target sites on mRNAs and induce translation, typically through a post-translational modification (PTM). These small, regulatory motifs located in the UTR of mRNAs are subject to a loss-of-function due to single polymorphisms or other mutations that disrupt the motif and inhibit the ability to associate into the complex with RBPs. The identification of a consensus motif for a given RBP is difficult, time consuming, and requires a significant degree of experimentation to identify each motif-containing gene on a genomic scale. We have developed a computational algorithm to analyze high-throughput genomic arrays that contain differential binding induced by a PTM for a RBP of interest–RBP-PTM Target Scan (RPTS). We demonstrate the ability of this application to accurately predict a PTM-specific binding motif to an RBP that has no antibody capable of distinguishing the PTM of interest, negating the use of in-vitro exonuclease digestion techniques.

Functional and Structural Consequences of Damaging Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Human Prostate Cancer Predisposition Gene RNASEL

A commonly diagnosed cancer, prostate cancer (PrCa), is being regulated by the gene RNASEL previously known as PRCA1 codes for ribonuclease L which is an integral part of interferon regulated system that mediates antiviral and antiproliferative role of the interferons. Both somatic and germline mutations have been implicated to cause prostate cancer. With an array of available Single Nucleotide Polymorphism data on dbSNP this study is designed to sort out functional SNPs in RNASEL by implementing different authentic computational tools such as SIFT, PolyPhen, SNPs&GO, Fathmm, ConSurf, UTRScan, PDBsum, Tm-Align, I-Mutant, and Project HOPE for functional and structural assessment, solvent accessibility, molecular dynamics, and energy minimization study. Among 794 RNASEL SNP entries 124 SNPs were found nonsynonymous from which SIFT predicted 13 nsSNPs as nontolerable whereas PolyPhen-2 predicted 28. SNPs found on the 3' and 5' UTR were also assessed. By analyzing six tools having different perspectives an aggregate result was produced where nine nsSNPs were found to be most likely to exert deleterious effect. 3D models of mutated proteins were generated to determine the functional and structural effect of the mutations on ribonuclease L. The initial findings were reinforced by the results from I-Mutant and Project HOPE as these tools predicted significant structural and functional instability of the mutated proteins. Expasy-ProSit tool defined the mutations to be situated in the functional domains of the protein. Considering previous analysis this study revealed a conclusive result deducing the available SNP data on the database by identifying the most damaging three nsSNP rs151296858 (G59S), rs145415894 (A276V), and rs35896902 (R592H). As such studies involving polymorphisms of RNASEL were none to be found, the results of the current study would certainly be helpful in future prospects concerning prostate cancer in males.

Identification of elements in human long 3' UTRs that inhibit nonsense-mediated decay

The nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway serves an important role in gene expression by targeting aberrant mRNAs that have acquired premature termination codons (PTCs) as well as a subset of normally processed endogenous mRNAs. One determinant for the targeting of mRNAs by NMD is the occurrence of translation termination distal to the poly(A) tail. Yet, a large subset of naturally occurring mRNAs contain long 3' UTRs, many of which, according to global studies, are insensitive to NMD. This raises the possibility that such mRNAs have evolved mechanisms for NMD evasion. Here, we analyzed a set of human long 3' UTR mRNAs and found that many are indeed resistant to NMD. By dissecting the 3' UTR of one such mRNA, TRAM1 mRNA, we identified a cis element located within the first 200 nt that inhibits NMD when positioned in downstream proximity of the translation termination codon and is sufficient for repressing NMD of a heterologous reporter mRNA. Investigation of other NMD-evading long 3' UTR mRNAs revealed a subset that, similar to TRAM1 mRNA, contains NMD-inhibiting cis elements in the first 200 nt. A smaller subset of long 3' UTR mRNAs evades NMD by a different mechanism that appears to be independent of a termination-proximal cis element. Our study suggests that different mechanisms have evolved to ensure NMD evasion of human mRNAs with long 3' UTRs.

RBPmap: a web server for mapping binding sites of RNA-binding proteins

Regulation of gene expression is executed in many cases by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that bind to mRNAs as well as to non-coding RNAs. RBPs recognize their RNA target via specific binding sites on the RNA. Predicting the binding sites of RBPs is known to be a major challenge. We present a new webserver, RBPmap, freely accessible through the website http://rbpmap.technion.ac.il/ for accurate prediction and mapping of RBP binding sites. RBPmap has been developed specifically for mapping RBPs in human, mouse and Drosophila melanogaster genomes, though it supports other organisms too. RBPmap enables the users to select motifs from a large database of experimentally defined motifs. In addition, users can provide any motif of interest, given as either a consensus or a PSSM. The algorithm for mapping the motifs is based on a Weighted-Rank approach, which considers the clustering propensity of the binding sites and the overall tendency of regulatory regions to be conserved. In addition, RBPmap incorporates a position-specific background model, designed uniquely for different genomic regions, such as splice sites, 5’ and 3’ UTRs, non-coding RNA and intergenic regions. RBPmap was tested on high-throughput RNA-binding experiments and was proved to be highly accurate.

BRCA1-Dependent Translational Regulation in Breast Cancer Cells

BRCA1 (Breast Cancer 1) has been implicated in a number of cellular processes, including transcription regulation, DNA damage repair and protein ubiquitination. We previously demonstrated that BRCA1 interacts with PABP1 (Poly(A)-Binding Protein 1) and that BRCA1 modulates protein synthesis through this interaction. To identify the mRNAs that are translationally regulated by BRCA1, we used a microarray analysis of polysome-bound mRNAs in BRCA1-depleted and non-depleted MCF7 cells. Our findings show that BRCA1 modifies the translational efficiency of approximately 7% of the mRNAs expressed in these cells. Further analysis revealed that several processes contributing to cell surveillance such as cell cycle arrest, cell death, cellular growth and proliferation, DNA repair and gene expression, are largely enriched for the mRNAs whose translation is impacted by BRCA1. The BRCA1-dependent translation of these species of mRNAs therefore uncovers a novel mechanism through which BRCA1 exerts its onco-suppressive role. In addition, the BRCA1-dependent translation of mRNAs participating in unexpected functions such as cellular movement, nucleic acid metabolism or protein trafficking is indicative of novel functions for BRCA1. Finally, this study contributes to the identification of several markers associated with BRCA1 deficiency and to the discovery of new potential anti-neoplastic therapeutic targets.

An alignment-free approach for eukaryotic ITS2 annotation and phylogenetic inference

The ITS2 gene class shows a high sequence divergence among its members that have complicated its annotation and its use for reconstructing phylogenies at a higher taxonomical level (beyond species and genus). Several alignment strategies have been implemented to improve the ITS2 annotation quality and its use for phylogenetic inferences. Although, alignment based methods have been exploited to the top of its complexity to tackle both issues, no alignment-free approaches have been able to successfully address both topics. By contrast, the use of simple alignment-free classifiers, like the topological indices (TIs) containing information about the sequence and structure of ITS2, may reveal to be a useful approach for the gene prediction and for assessing the phylogenetic relationships of the ITS2 class in eukaryotes. Thus, we used the TI2BioP (Topological Indices to BioPolymers) methodology [1], [2], freely available at http://ti2biop.sourceforge.net/ to calculate two different TIs. One class was derived from the ITS2 artificial 2D structures generated from DNA strings and the other from the secondary structure inferred from RNA folding algorithms. Two alignment-free models based on Artificial Neural Networks were developed for the ITS2 class prediction using the two classes of TIs referred above. Both models showed similar performances on the training and the test sets reaching values above 95% in the overall classification. Due to the importance of the ITS2 region for fungi identification, a novel ITS2 genomic sequence was isolated from Petrakia sp. This sequence and the test set were used to comparatively evaluate the conventional classification models based on multiple sequence alignments like Hidden Markov based approaches, revealing the success of our models to identify novel ITS2 members. The isolated sequence was assessed using traditional and alignment-free based techniques applied to phylogenetic inference to complement the taxonomy of the Petrakia sp. fungal isolate.

Post-transcriptional regulation of human cathepsin L expression

The expression of cathepsin L, a lysosomal protease, is known to be elevated in cancer and other pathologies. Multiple splice variants of human cathepsin L with variable 5'UTRs exist, which encode for the same protein. Previously we have observed that variant hCATL A (bearing the longest 5'UTR) was translated in vitro with significantly lower efficiency than variant hCATL AIII (bearing the shortest 5'UTR). Contrary to these findings, results of the present study reveal that in cancer cells, hCATL A mRNA exhibits higher translatability in spite of having lower stability than AIII. This is the first report demonstrating a highly contrasting trend in translation efficiencies of hCATL variants in rabbit reticulocytes and live cells. Expression from chimeric mRNAs containing 5'UTRs of A or AIII upstream to luciferase reporter cDNA established the A UTR to be the sole determinant for this effect. Transient transfections of bicistronic plasmids and mRNAs confirmed the presence of a functional Internal Ribosome Entry Site in this UTR. Our data suggest that differential stability and translation initiation modes mediated by the 5'UTRs of human cathepsin L variants are involved in regulating its expression.

Transcriptome analysis of synaptoneurosomes identifies neuroplasticity genes overexpressed in incipient Alzheimer's disease

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), early deficits in learning and memory are a consequence of synaptic modification induced by toxic beta-amyloid oligomers (oAβ). To identify immediate molecular targets downstream of oAβ binding, we prepared synaptoneurosomes from prefrontal cortex of control and incipient AD (IAD) patients, and isolated mRNAs for comparison of gene expression. This novel approach concentrates synaptic mRNA, thereby increasing the ratio of synaptic to somal mRNA and allowing discrimination of expression changes in synaptically localized genes. In IAD patients, global measures of cognition declined with increasing levels of dimeric Aβ (dAβ). These patients also showed increased expression of neuroplasticity related genes, many encoding 3′UTR consensus sequences that regulate translation in the synapse. An increase in mRNA encoding the GluR2 subunit of the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptor (AMPAR) was paralleled by elevated expression of the corresponding protein in IAD. These results imply a functional impact on synaptic transmission as GluR2, if inserted, maintains the receptors in a low conductance state. Some overexpressed genes may induce early deficits in cognition and others compensatory mechanisms, providing targets for intervention to moderate the response to dAβ.

PCA-HPR: a principle component analysis model for human promoter recognition

We describe a promoter recognition method named PCA-HPR to locate eukaryotic promoter regions and predict transcription start sites (TSSs). We computed codon (3-mer) and pentamer (5-mer) frequencies and created codon and pentamer frequency feature matrices to extract informative and discriminative features for effective classification. Principal component analysis (PCA) is applied to the feature matrices and a subset of principal components (PCs) are selected for classification. Our system uses three neural network classifiers to distinguish promoters versus exons, promoters versus introns, and promoters versus 3' un-translated region (3'UTR). We compared PCA-HPR with three well-known existing promoter prediction systems such as DragonGSF, Eponine and FirstEF. Validation shows that PCA-HPR achieves the best performance with three test sets for all the four predictive systems.

Bioinformatics detection of alternative splicing

In recent years, genome-wide detection of alternative splicing based on Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) sequence alignments with mRNA and genomic sequences has dramatically expanded our understanding of the role of alternative splicing in functional regulation. This chapter reviews the data, methodology, and technical challenges of these genome-wide analyses of alternative splicing, and briefly surveys some of the uses to which such alternative splicing databases have been put. For example, with proper alternative splicing database schema design, it is possible to query genome-wide for alternative splicing patterns that are specific to particular tissues, disease states (e.g., cancer), gender, or developmental stages. EST alignments can be used to estimate exon inclusion or exclusion level of alternatively spliced exons and evolutionary changes for various species can be inferred from exon inclusion level. Such databases can also help automate design of probes for RT-PCR and microarrays, enabling high throughput experimental measurement of alternative splicing.

The untranslated region of exon 2 of the human neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1) gene exerts regulatory activity

Expressional dysregulation of the human neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1) gene represents an important mechanism in the pathogenesis of certain neuronal disease states. The structure and regulation of the human NOS1 gene is highly complex based on cell type- and stimulus-dependent usage of multiple exon 1 variants. Here we demonstrate that the untranslated region of exon 2 exerts promoter and enhancer functions as well, facilitated in large part by cooperative interaction of two conserved adjacent CREB/AP-1 binding sites. In human neuronal A673 cells, NOS1 expression is stimulated by several compounds which act through these sites, but also stimulate the combined promoter region of exons 1f and 1g. While stimulation of NOS1 expression by dibutyryl-cAMP is mediated by protein kinase A (blocked by H-89), the antiepileptic drug valproic acid is likely to activate phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (inhibited by LY 294002).

Bioinformatics and experimental derivation of an efficient hybrid 3' untranslated region and use in expression active linear DNA with minimum poly(A) region

Untranslated regions at the 3' end of the messenger RNA (3' UTR) contain regulatory elements that affect mRNA stability and translation and subsequently the protein levels. In this report, we performed bioinformatics analysis on housekeeping genes with putative stable mRNAs in comparison with Class II AU-rich elements (ARE)-containing mRNAs, a group of mRNAs known to represent many labile transcripts. We have found that ARE-mRNAs are less abundant and had longer 3' UTR than stable housekeeping mRNAs. As a result of the analysis, we evaluated the use of a 3' UTR derived from the abundant elongation factor 1 alpha 1 (EEF1A1) mRNA, in expression vectors. Due to the excellent consequence of the modified 3' UTR, we were able to produce expression active linear DNA generated by cloning-free PCR. We have also applied this approach to study the in vivo minimum requirement of poly(A) signal context that allows efficient protein synthesis. The efficient 3' UTR may find use in enhanced recombinant protein production and also provide a simplified tool for generation of expression active linear DNA.

ARED 3.0: the large and diverse AU-rich transcriptome

A comprehensive search that utilized a large set of mRNA data from human genome databases and additionally, expressed sequence tag (EST) database characterized this latest update of AU-rich elements (AREs) containing mRNA database (ARED). A large number of ARE-mRNA, as much as 4000, were recovered and include many of ARE alternative forms. This number represents as much as 5–8% of the human genes depending on the entire number of genes. The new ARED does not contain only larger and diverse number of ARE-mRNAs but additional functionality and enhanced search capabilities are given in the database website . These include class and cluster of AREs, source mRNAs, EST evidence, buildup information, retrieval of lists of genes, and integration with current and new NCBI data, such as Entrez ID and Unigene. Gene Ontology analysis shows there are significant differences in functional diversity of ARED when compared with the overall genome. Many of ARE-genes mediate regulatory processes, reactions to outside stimuli, RNA metabolism, and developmental processes particularly those of early and transient responses. The wide interest in mRNA turnover and importance of AREs in health and disease signify the compilation of ARE-genes.

NEP1 orthologs encoding necrosis and ethylene inducing proteins exist as a multigene family in Phytophthora megakarya, causal agent of black pod disease on cacao

Phvytophthora megakarya is a devastating oomycete pathogen that causes black pod disease in cacao. Phytophthora species produce a protein that has a similar sequence to the necrosis and ethylene inducing protein (Nep1) of Fusarium oxysporum. Multiple copies of NEP1 orthologs (PmegNEP) have been identified in P. megakarya and four other Phytophthora species (P. citrophthora, P. capsici, P. palmivora, and P. sojae). Genome database searches confirmed the existence of multiple copies of NEP1 orthologs in P. sojae and P. ramorum. In this study, nine different PmegNEP orthologs from P. megakarya strain Mk-1 were identified and analyzed. Of these nine orthologs, six were expressed in mycelium and in P. megakarya zoospore-infected cacao leaf tissue. The remaining two clones are either regulated differently, or are nonfunctional genes. Sequence analysis revealed that six PmegNEP orthologs were organized in two clusters of three orthologs each in the P. megakarya genome. Evidence is presented for the instability in the P. megakarya genome resulting from duplications, inversions, and fused genes resulting in multiple NEP1 orthologs. Traits characteristic of the Phytophthora genome, such as the clustering of NEP1 orthologs, the lack of CATT and TATA boxes, the lack of introns, and the short distance between ORFs were also observed.

Computational analysis of 3'-ends of ESTs shows four classes of alternative polyadenylation in human, mouse, and rat

Alternative initiation, splicing, and polyadenylation are key mechanisms used by many organisms to generate diversity among mature mRNA transcripts originating from the same transcription unit. While previous computational analyses of alternative polyadenylation have focused on polyadenylation activities within or downstream of the normal 3'-terminal exons, we present the results of the first genome-wide analysis of patterns of alternative polyadenylation in the human, mouse, and rat genomes occurring over the entire transcribed regions of mRNAs using 3'-ESTs with poly(A) tails aligned to genomic sequences. Four distinct classes of patterns of alternative polyadenylation result from this analysis: tandem poly(A) sites, composite exons, hidden exons, and truncated exons. We estimate that at least 49% (human), 31% (mouse), and 28% (rat) of polyadenylated transcription units have alternative polyadenylation. A portion of these alternative polyadenylation events result in new protein isoforms.

Effect of 3'UTR length on the translational regulation of 5'-terminal oligopyrimidine mRNAs

In Vertebrates, all genes coding for ribosomal proteins, as well as those for other proteins implicated in the production and function of translation machinery, are regulated by mitogenic and nutritional stimuli, at the translational level. A cis-regulatory element necessary for this regulation is the typical 5'UTR, common to all ribosomal protein mRNAs, which always starts at the 5' end with several pyrimidines. Having noticed that the 3'UTR of all ribosomal protein mRNAs is much shorter than most cellular mRNAs, we have now studied the possible implication of this 3'UTR feature in the translational regulation. For this purpose, we constructed a number of chimeric genes whose transcribed mRNAs contain: (1) the 5'UTR of ribosomal protein S6 mRNA or, as a control, of beta-actin mRNA; (2) the EGFP reporter coding sequence from the starting AUG to the stop codon; (3) different 3'UTRs of various lengths. These constructs have been stably transfected in human HEK293 cells, and the translation regulation of the expressed chimeric mRNAs has been analyzed for translation efficiency, in growing and in serum starved cells, by the polysome association assay. The results obtained indicate that, while the typical growth-associated translational regulation is bestowed on an mRNA by the pyrimidine sequence containing 5'UTR, the stringency of regulation depends on the short size of the 3'UTR.

Cloning of murine early quiescence-1 gene: the murine counterpart of dermatopontin gene can induce and be induced by cell quiescence

Using the method of differential display, we identified a murine gene (GenBank accession number ) specifically expressed in quiescent cells, that is, BALB/c 3T3 cells rendered quiescent by serum deprivation or by contact inhibition. The cloned promoter was 1367 bp in length (accession number ). This gene was called early quiescence-1 (EQ-1) gene because its induction could be detected within 3 h following serum deprivation. EQ-1 is markedly expressed in the heart and lung. The full-length EQ-1 cDNA, cloned from a mouse lung cDNA library, is 1673 bp in length and consists of 26 bp 5' untranslated region, 603 bp coding region, and 1044 bp 3' untranslated region, the latter of which harbors two polyadenylation signals. Because the deduced amino acid residues are of 92% homology to human dermatopontin, EQ-1 represents the murine counterpart of the human dermatopontin. The stably transfected cell line harboring EQ-1 driven by an inducible promoter showed approximately 50% inhibition on cell proliferation after being treated with an inducer for 5 days. These results suggest that the cell quiescence-induced EQ-1 gene can induce cell quiescence, implicating a self-driven mechanism of antiproliferation.

PCAS--a precomputed proteome annotation database resource

BACKGROUND

Many model proteomes or "complete" sets of proteins of given organisms are now publicly available. Much effort has been invested in computational annotation of those "draft" proteomes. Motif or domain based algorithms play a pivotal role in functional classification of proteins. Employing most available computational algorithms, mainly motif or domain recognition algorithms, we set up to develop an online proteome annotation system with integrated proteome annotation data to complement existing resources.

RESULTS

We report here the development of PCAS (ProteinCentric Annotation System) as an online resource of pre-computed proteome annotation data. We applied most available motif or domain databases and their analysis methods, including hmmpfam search of HMMs in Pfam, SMART and TIGRFAM, RPS-PSIBLAST search of PSSMs in CDD, pfscan of PROSITE patterns and profiles, as well as PSI-BLAST search of SUPERFAMILY PSSMs. In addition, signal peptide and TM are predicted using SignalP and TMHMM respectively. We mapped SUPERFAMILY and COGs to InterPro, so the motif or domain databases are integrated through InterPro. PCAS displays table summaries of pre-computed data and a graphical presentation of motifs or domains relative to the protein. As of now, PCAS contains human IPI, mouse IPI, and rat IPI, A. thaliana, C. elegans, D. melanogaster, S. cerevisiae, and S. pombe proteome.PCAS is available at http://pak.cbi.pku.edu.cn/proteome/gca.php

CONCLUSION

PCAS gives better annotation coverage for model proteomes by employing a wider collection of available algorithms. Besides presenting the most confident annotation data, PCAS also allows customized query so users can inspect statistically less significant boundary information as well. Therefore, besides providing general annotation information, PCAS could be used as a discovery platform. We plan to update PCAS twice a year. We will upgrade PCAS when new proteome annotation algorithms identified.

Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression by degradation of messenger RNAs

Recent evidence suggests that gene expression may be regulated, at least in part, at post-transcriptional level by factors inducing the extremely rapid degradation of messenger RNAs. These factors include reactions between adenyl-uridyl-rich elements (AREs) of the relevant mRNA and either specific proteins that bind to these elements or exosomes. This review deals with examples of the proteins (AU-rich binding proteins, AUBPs) and exosomes, which have been shown to form complexes with AREs and bring about rapid degradation of the relevant mRNA, and with certain other factors, which protect the RNA from such degradation. The biochemical and physiological factors underlying the stability of messenger RNAs carrying the ARE motifs will be reviewed in the light of their emerging significance for cell physiology, human pathology, and molecular medicine. We also consider the possible application of the results of recent insights into the mechanisms to pharmacological interventions to prevent or cure disorders, especially developmental disorders, which the suppression of gene expression may bring about. Molecular targeting of specific steps in protein degradation by synthetic compounds has already been utilized for the development of pharmacological therapies.

Analysis of germ cell nuclear factor transcripts and protein expression during spermatogenesis

Germ cell nuclear factor (GCNF), an orphan receptor in the nuclear receptor superfamily, is expressed predominantly in developing germ cells in the adult mouse. Two Gcnf transcripts (7.4 and 2.1 kilobase [kb]) encoded by a single copy gene are expressed in the testis of several mammalian species. To identify features that regulate Gcnf expression, we characterized the structure and sequence of the mouse gene and its two transcripts and determined the expression profile of the GCNF protein during spermatogenesis. Genomic fragments spanning part of the 5'-untranslated region (UTR), the coding sequence, and the complete 3'-UTR (approximately 80 kb) were isolated and sequenced. The 3'-UTRs of the two transcripts are quite distinct. The 7.4 kb transcript, which appears earlier in spermatogenesis, has a very long 3'-UTR of 4451 nucleotides. In contrast, the 2.1 kb transcript, which is expressed predominantly during the haploid phase of spermatogenesis, has a 3'-UTR that is only 202 nucleotides in length. Additional analyses indicate that both transcripts share the same coding region and are associated with polysomes. A single GCNF protein band was detected in testis extracts by Western blotting with a specific antiserum. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that GCNF is localized in the nuclei of pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids. GCNF is first detectable in early pachytene spermatocytes (stage II) and is continuously expressed until spermatids begin to elongate in stage IX. Although GCNF is generally distributed throughout the nucleus, it is particularly prominent in heterochromatic regions at some stages and in condensed chromosomes undergoing the meiotic divisions. This expression profile suggests that GCNF plays a role in transcriptional regulation during meiosis and the early haploid phase of spermatogenesis.

Computer model for recognition of functional transcription start sites in RNA polymerase II promoters of vertebrates

This paper introduces a new computer system for recognition of functional transcription start sites (TSSs) in RNA polymerase II promoter regions of vertebrates. This system allows scanning complete vertebrate genomes for promoters with significantly reduced number of false positive predictions. It can be used in the context of gene finding through its recognition of the 5' end of genes. The implemented recognition model uses a composite-hierarchical approach, artificial intelligence, statistics, and signal processing techniques. It also exploits the separation of promoter sequences into those that are C+G-rich or C+G-poor. The system was evaluated on a large and diverse human sequence-set and exhibited several times higher accuracy than several publicly available TSS-finding programs. Results obtained using human chromosome 22 data showed even greater specificity than the evaluation set results. The system has been implemented in the Dragon Promoter Finder package, which can be accessed at http://sdmc.krdl.org.sg:8080/promoter/.

Sequence determinants in human polyadenylation site selection

BACKGROUND

Differential polyadenylation is a widespread mechanism in higher eukaryotes producing mRNAs with different 3' ends in different contexts. This involves several alternative polyadenylation sites in the 3' UTR, each with its specific strength. Here, we analyze the vicinity of human polyadenylation signals in search of patterns that would help discriminate strong and weak polyadenylation sites, or true sites from randomly occurring signals.

RESULTS

We used human genomic sequences to retrieve the region downstream of polyadenylation signals, usually absent from cDNA or mRNA databases. Analyzing 4956 EST-validated polyadenylation sites and their -300/+300 nt flanking regions, we clearly visualized the upstream (USE) and downstream (DSE) sequence elements, both characterized by U-rich (not GU-rich) segments. The presence of a USE and a DSE is the main feature distinguishing true polyadenylation sites from randomly occurring A(A/U)UAAA hexamers. While USEs are indifferently associated with strong and weak poly(A) sites, DSEs are more conspicuous near strong poly(A) sites. We then used the region encompassing the hexamer and DSE as a training set for poly(A) site identification by the ERPIN program and achieved a prediction specificity of 69 to 85% for a sensitivity of 56%.

CONCLUSION

The availability of complete genomes and large EST sequence databases now permit large-scale observation of polyadenylation sites. Both U-rich sequences flanking both sides of poly(A) signals contribute to the definition of "true" sites. However, the downstream U-rich sequences may also play an enhancing role. Based on this information, poly(A) site prediction accuracy was moderately but consistently improved compared to the best previously available algorithm.

Prediction of consensus structural motifs in a family of coregulated RNA sequences

Given a set of homologous or functionally related RNA sequences, the consensus motifs may represent the binding sites of RNA regulatory proteins. Unlike DNA motifs, RNA motifs are more conserved in structures than in sequences. Knowing the structural motifs can help us gain a deeper insight of the regulation activities. There have been various studies of RNA secondary structure prediction, but most of them are not focused on finding motifs from sets of functionally related sequences. Although recent research shows some new approaches to RNA motif finding, they are limited to finding relatively simple structures, e.g. stem-loops. In this paper, we propose a novel genetic programming approach to RNA secondary structure prediction. It is capable of finding more complex structures than stem-loops. To demonstrate the performance of our new approach as well as to keep the consistency of our comparative study, we first tested it on the same data sets previously used to verify the current prediction systems. To show the flexibility of our new approach, we also tested it on a data set that contains pseudoknot motifs which most current systems cannot identify. A web-based user interface of the prediction system is set up at http://bioinfo. cis.nctu.edu.tw/service/gprm/.

General utility of the chicken betaB1-crystallin promoter to drive protein expression in lens fiber cells of transgenic mice

Transgenic mouse technology has been very valuable for the study of lens fiber cells since they can not be propagated in cell culture. The targeting of transgenes to the lens has traditionally been done with the alphaA-crystallin promoter. However, while lens-specific, transgenic lines made with the alphaA-crystallin promoter express the transgene at levels 100-300-fold lower than endogenous alphaA-crystallin. Here we propose an alternative, the chicken betaB1-crystallin promoter (-432/+30). Transgenic mice made with this promoter have successfully expressed CAT, d/n m-calpain, Weel, and betaB2-crystallin mRNA at levels comparable to the endogenous betaB1-crystallin gene and no eye abnormalities such as cataracts, have resulted. All of the transgenic lines made with the chicken betaB1-crystallin promoter have expressed the transgene in the lens fiber cells, and the best lines express at levels close to endogenous betaB1-crystallin. While RNA expression is very high, only moderate protein expression has been achieved, implying that the high protein expression of the crystallins is partially controlled at the level of translation. Thus, the chicken betaB1-crystallin promoter directs high level RNA expression to lens fiber cells, which may be especially useful for the expression of ribozyme and anti-sense RNAs in addition to ectopic proteins.

Characterization of the mouse hnRNP A2/B1/B0 gene and identification of processed pseudogenes

The mouse hnRNP A2/B1/B0 gene has been cloned using a PCR-based strategy and sequenced. Analysis of this sequence showed that the gene organization closely follows that of the human orthologue with 12 exons and 11 introns. The hnRNP A2/B1/B0 gene gives rise to four splice variants through alternative splicing of exons 2 and 9. RT-PCR assays indicated that all splice variants were expressed in mouse brain, skin, and stomach tissues of varying ages, although their ratios to one another varied with age and tissue type. We also identified a small subset of all polyadenylated splice variants that included intron 11, which shows 94% sequence identity between human and mouse. Several processed pseudogenes were identified in the mouse genome. A search of the mouse genome databases located five pseudogenes, four of which are presumed to be non-functional because of the presence of premature stop codons, large deletions or rearrangements within the coding region. The fifth, which possesses putative promoter elements and has a coding sequence identical to that of the hnRNP A2 mRNA variant, may be functional.

Evolutionary dynamics of mammalian mRNA untranslated regions by comparative analysis of orthologous human, artiodactyl and rodent gene pairs

Most evolutionary studies based on molecular data refer to the portion of genomes encoding for proteins. Today, however, more and more attention is paid to the so-called 'non-coding' regions, which constitute a notable portion of the metazoan nuclear genome. Among them, the untranslated regions of messenger RNAs (mRNA UTRs) are particularly important, as they are involved in the regulation of gene expression, controlling translation efficiency as well as mRNA localization and stability. Up to now, only few studies have focused on the analysis of the compositional and structural features of UTRs, or carried out to investigate quantitatively their evolutionary dynamics. For this reason we have carried out an inter-order study on the evolutionary rate of 5' and 3' UTRs with respect to the corresponding coding region in 93 triplets of orthologous genes (selected through a phylogenetic approach, for a total of 645 625 nt) belonging to Primates (Homo sapiens), Artiodactyla (Bos taurus) and Rodentia (Mus spp.). Our study, that considered only likely orthologous genes, has revealed interesting features on the evolution of these regions concerning nucleotide substitution rate and indels and repetitive element distribution. UTRs from different genes showed a remarkable heterogeneity in the evolutionary dynamics, with some homologous so highly divergent to prevent their alignment, and other rather conserved, at least in some regions, most divergent sequence pairs were excluded from our analysis. The comparison between the nucleotide substitution rates calculated for 5' and 3' UTRs with those calculated on synonymous coding position allowed us to verify and measure the existence of functional constraints acting upon the UTRs of different genes which have shown, in many cases, a positive selection driven evolutionary dynamics.

Differential calmodulin gene expression in the rodent brain

Apparently redundant members of the calmodulin (CaM) gene family encode for the same amino acid sequence. CaM, a ubiquitous cytoplasmic calcium ion receptor, regulates the function of a variety of target molecules even in a single cell. Maintenance of the fidelity of the active CaM-target interactions in different compartments of the cell requires a rather complex control of the total cellular CaM pool comprising multiple levels of regulatory circuits. Among these mechanisms, it has long been proposed that a multigene family maximizes the regulatory potentials at the level of the gene expression. CaM genes are expressed at a particularly profound level in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), especially in the highly polarized neurons. Thus, in the search for clear evidence of the suggested differential expression of the CaM genes, much of the research has been focused on the elements of the CNS. This review aims to give a comprehensive survey on the current understanding of this field at the level of the regulation of CaM mRNA transcription and distribution in the rodent brain. The results indicate that the CaM genes are indeed expressed in a gene-specific manner in the developing and adult brain under physiological conditions. To establish local CaM pools in distant intracellular compartments (dendrites and glial processes), local protein synthesis from differentially targeted mRNAs is also employed. Moreover, the CaM genes are controlled in a unique, gene-specific fashion when responding to certain external stimuli. Additionally, putative regulatory elements have been identified on the CaM genes and mRNAs.

Reexamining the polyadenylation signal: were we wrong about AAUAAA?

Polyadenylation is the process by which most eukaryotic mRNAs form their 3' ends. It was long held that polyadenylation required the sequence AAUAAA and that 90% of mRNAs had AAUAAA within 30 nucleotides of the site of poly(A) addition. More recent studies, aided by computer analysis of sequences made available in GenBank and expressed sequence tag (EST) databases, have suggested that the actual incidence of AAUAAA is much lower, perhaps as low as 50-60%. Reproductive biologists have long recognized that a large number of mRNAs in male germ cells of mammals lack AAUAAA but are otherwise normally polyadenylated. Recent research in our laboratory has uncovered a new form of an essential polyadenylation protein, tauCstF-64, that is most highly expressed in male germ cells, and to a smaller extent in the brain, and which we propose plays a significant role in AAUAAA-independent mRNA polyadenylation in germ cells.

Genetic analysis of the mouse brain proteome

Proteome analysis is a fundamental step in systematic functional genomics. Here we have resolved 8,767 proteins from the mouse brain proteome by large-gel two-dimensional electrophoresis. We detected 1,324 polymorphic proteins from the European collaborative interspecific backcross. Of these, we mapped 665 proteins genetically and identified 466 proteins by mass spectrometry. Qualitatively polymorphic proteins, to 96%, reflect changes in conformation and/or mass. Quantitatively polymorphic proteins show a high frequency (73%) of allele-specific transmission in codominant heterozygotes. Variations in protein isoforms and protein quantity often mapped to chromosomal positions different from that of the structural gene, indicating that single proteins may act as polygenic traits. Genetic analysis of proteomes may detect the types of polymorphism that are most relevant in disease-association studies.

Frequent abnormalities of the p15 and p16 genes in mycosis fungoides and sezary syndrome

There are few data on the molecular pathogenesis of cutaneous T cell lymphomas. A recent allelotyping study by our group identified frequent allelic loss on 9p, 10q, and 17p including losses on 9p21 in 16% of patients with mycosis fungoides and 46% with Sezary syndrome. The P15 and P16 genes are intricately linked on 9p21 and can be inactivated in melanoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We have therefore studied 76 patients with either mycosis fungoides or Sezary syndrome for abnormalities of these genes. DNA samples were analyzed for loss of heterozygosity, homozygous deletion, intragenic mutations, and promoter methylation. In addition P15 and P16 protein expression was assessed. Microsatellite analysis was informative in 73 of 76 cases: allelic loss on 9p21 was identified in 18 patients (25%), including 12 of 57 with mycosis fungoides (21%) and six of 16 with Sezary syndrome (37%). Single strand conformation polymorphism analysis of the entire coding regions of both genes did not identify any mutations, although two polymorphisms were identified including C613A, which has not previously been described. P15 and P16 gene promoter methylation was found in 45% and 29% of patients, respectively. Furthermore aberrant P15 protein expression was detected in 85% of patients analyzed with P15 gene abnormalities and abnormal P16 expression in 59% with P16 gene abnormalities. These abnormalities were not dependent on cutaneous stage of disease. This study suggests that abnormalities of the P15 and P16 genes are common in both early and advanced stages of mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome and that these genes may be inactivated by allelic loss and aberrant promoter methylation.

Suppression of 15-lipoxygenase synthesis by hnRNP E1 is dependent on repetitive nature of LOX mRNA 3'-UTR control element DICE

Cytidine-rich 15-lipoxygenase differentiation control element (15-LOX DICE) is a multifunctional cis-element found in the 3'-UTR of numerous eukaryotic mRNAs. It binds KH domain proteins of the type hnRNP E and K, thus mediating mRNA stabilization and translational control. Translational silencing is caused by formation of a simple binary complex between DICE and recombinant hnRNP E1 (E1). Electromobility shift assays and sucrose gradient centrifugation demonstrate that rabbit 15-LOX DICE, which is composed of ten subunits of the sequence (CCCCPuCCCUCUUCCCCAAG)10=10R, is able to bind up to ten molecules of E1. Protein/RNA interaction was studied with different subunits and submotifs of the 10R structure. Binding appears to be dependent on the degree of polymerization of the C-clusters (1R<2R<4R<10R), but not on their order. The minimal motif, which still functioned in E1 binding, contained two C-clusters (CCCCPuCCCUCUU). For efficient translational control, E1 binding is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition. Translational inhibition by E1 is only observed when at least a dimeric 2R configuration of the DICE is present in the 3'-UTR of a reporter mRNA. We conclude that binding of at least two E1 molecules activate or expose a binding site to enable the complex to interact with the 5'-end of the mRNA and the translational machinery. DICE-motifs are widely distributed in nature. The UTR database UTRnr contains 78 entries of mRNAs with 15-LOX DICEs. Most DICEs were two- to fourfold repetitive, but also highly repetitive structures were found, as in quail myelin protein mRNA (31 repeats) and hyperglycemic hormone mRNA of two crayfish species (nine and 11 repeats).

MitoNuc: a database of nuclear genes coding for mitochondrial proteins. Update 2002

Mitochondria, besides their central role in energy metabolism, have recently been found to be involved in a number of basic processes of cell life and to contribute to the pathogenesis of many degenerative diseases. All functions of mitochondria depend on the interaction of nuclear and organelle genomes. Mitochondrial genomes have been extensively sequenced and analysed and data have been collected in several specialised databases. In order to collect information on nuclear coded mitochondrial proteins we developed MitoNuc, a database containing detailed information on sequenced nuclear genes coding for mitochondrial proteins in Metazoa. The MitoNuc database can be retrieved through SRS and is available via the web site http://bighost.area.ba.cnr.it/mitochondriome where other mitochondrial databases developed by our group, the complete list of the sequenced mitochondrial genomes, links to other mitochondrial sites and related information, are available. The MitoAln database, related to MitoNuc in the previous release, reporting the multiple alignments of the relevant homologous protein coding regions, is no longer supported in the present release. In order to keep the links among entries in MitoNuc from homologous proteins, a new field in the database has been defined: the cluster identifier, an alpha numeric code used to identify each cluster of homologous proteins. A comment field derived from the corresponding SWISS-PROT entry has been introduced; this reports clinical data related to dysfunction of the protein. The logic scheme of MitoNuc database has been implemented in the ORACLE DBMS. This will allow the end-users to retrieve data through a friendly interface that will be soon implemented.

Transterm: a database of mRNAs and translational control elements

Transterm is a database that facilitates studies of translation and the translational control of protein synthesis. It contains a curated collection of elements in mRNAs that control translation, and biologically relevant mRNA regions extracted from GenBank. It is organised largely on a taxonomic basis with files and summaries for each species. Global patterns that may affect translation in particular species, for example bias in the context of initiation codons (Kozak's consensus or Shine-Dalgarno sequences) or termination codons, can be detected in the consensus and information content bias summaries. Several types of access are provided via a web browser interface. Transterm defined elements may be matched in a user's sequence or in the database. Alternatively, elements can be entered by the user to search specific sections of the database (for example, coding regions or 3' flanking regions or the 3'-UTRs) or the user's sequence. Each Transterm defined element has an associated biological description with references. The database is accessible at http://uther.otago.ac.nz/Transterm.html.

Direct RNA motif definition and identification from multiple sequence alignments using secondary structure profiles

We present here a new approach to the problem of defining RNA signatures and finding their occurrences in sequence databases. The proposed method is based on "secondary structure profiles". An RNA sequence alignment with secondary structure information is used as an input. Two types of weight matrices/profiles are constructed from this alignment: single strands are represented by a classical lod-scores profile while helical regions are represented by an extended "helical profile" comprising 16 lod-scores per position, one for each of the 16 possible base-pairs. Database searches are then conducted using a simultaneous search for helical profiles and dynamic programming alignment of single strand profiles. The algorithm has been implemented into a new software, ERPIN, that performs both profile construction and database search. Applications are presented for several RNA motifs. The automated use of sequence information in both single-stranded and helical regions yields better sensitivity/specificity ratios than descriptor-based programs. Furthermore, since the translation of alignments into profiles is straightforward with ERPIN, iterative searches can easily be conducted to enrich collections of homologous RNAs.

Translational activation and repression by distinct elements within the 5'-UTR of ENaC alpha-subunit mRNA

The rat amiloride-sensitive epithelial Na(+) channel (rENaC), the rate-limiting step in epithelial Na(+) transport, consists of three subunits, alpha, beta, and gamma. We hypothesized that alpha-rENaC translation is regulated via its 5'-untranslated region (UTR). Transient transfections of alpha-rENaC promoter-reporter constructs in representative epithelial cell lines demonstrated up to fivefold differences in activity among constructs containing different amounts of the alpha-rENaC 5'-UTR sequence. Differences in reporter protein activity did not parallel differences in reporter mRNA, demonstrating that 5'-UTR regulation must be at the level of translation. Specifically, translation was enhanced by a region extending from +53 to +211 bp downstream from the transcription start site and repressed by the region between +367 and +499 bp. Examination of the 5'-UTR sequence revealed an out-of-frame initiation codon within the repressive region, 43 bp upstream from the start of the alpha-rENaC open reading frame. Mutational analysis of this upstream start codon indicated that it plays, at most, a minor role in impeding translation both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that additional mechanisms of translational regulation are operative.

Structural and functional features of eukaryotic mRNA untranslated regions

The crucial role of the non-coding portion of genomes is now widely acknowledged. In particular, mRNA untranslated regions are involved in many post-transcriptional regulatory pathways that control mRNA localization, stability and translation efficiency. We review in this paper the major structural and compositional features of eukaryotic mRNA untranslated regions and provide some examples of bioinformatic analyses for their functional characterization.

Identification and characterization of a novel family of mammalian ependymin-related proteins (MERPs) in hematopoietic, nonhematopoietic, and malignant tissues

Evidence is presented for a family of mammalian homologs of ependymin, which we have termed the mammalian ependymin-related proteins (MERPs). Ependymins are secreted glycoproteins that form the major component of the cerebrospinal fluid in many teleost fish. We have cloned the entire coding region of human MERP-1 and mapped the gene to chromosome 7p14.1 by fluorescence in situ hybridization. In addition, three human MERP pseudogenes were identified on chromosomes 8, 16, and X. We have also cloned the mouse MERP-1 homolog and an additional family member, mouse MERP-2. Then, using bioinformatics, the mouse MERP-2 gene was localized to chromosome 13, and we identified the monkey MERP-1 homolog and frog ependymin-related protein (ERP). Despite relatively low amino acid sequence conservation between piscine ependymins, toad ERP, and MERPs, several amino acids (including four key cysteine residues) are strictly conserved, and the hydropathy profiles are remarkably alike, suggesting the possibilities of similar protein conformation and function. As with fish ependymins, frog ERP and MERPs contain a signal peptide typical of secreted proteins. The MERPs were found to be expressed at high levels in several hematopoietic cell lines and in nonhematopoietic tissues such as brain, heart, and skeletal muscle, as well as several malignant tissues and malignant cell lines. These findings suggest that MERPs have several potential roles in a range of cells and tissues.

Identification of alternate polyadenylation sites and analysis of their tissue distribution using EST data

Alternate polyadenylation affects a large fraction of higher eucaryote mRNAs, producing mature transcripts with 3' ends of variable length. This variation is poorly represented in the current transcript catalogs derived from whole genome sequences, mostly because such posttranscriptional events are not detectable directly at the DNA level. Alternate polyadenylation of an mRNA is better understood by comparison to EST databases. Comparing ESTs to mRNAs, however, is a difficult task subjected to the pitfalls of internal priming, presence of intron sequences, repeated elements, chimerical ESTs or matches with EST from paralogous genes. We present here a computer program that addresses these problems and displays ESTs matches to a query mRNA sequence to predict alternate polyadenylation and to suggest library-specific forms. The output highlights effective polyadenylation signals, possible sources of artifacts such as A-rich stretches in the mRNA sequences, and allows for a direct visualization of EST libraries using color codes. Statistical biases in the distribution of alternative mRNA forms among EST libraries were systematically sought. About 1450 human and 200 mouse mRNAs displayed such biases, suggesting in each case a tissue- or disease-specific regulation of polyadenylation.

An oligonucleotide fingerprint normalized and expressed sequence tag characterized zebrafish cDNA library

The zebrafish is a powerful system for understanding the vertebrate genome, allowing the combination of genetic, molecular, and embryological analysis. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) provide a rapid means of identifying an organism's genes for further analysis, but any EST project is limited by the availability of suitable libraries. Such cDNA libraries must be of high quality and provide a high rate of gene discovery. However, commonly used normalization and subtraction procedures tend to select for shorter, truncated, and internally primed inserts, seriously affecting library quality. An alternative procedure is to use oligonucleotide fingerprinting (OFP) to precluster clones before EST sequencing, thereby reducing the re-sequencing of common transcripts. Here, we describe the use of OFP to normalize and subtract 75,000 clones from two cDNA libraries, to a minimal set of 25,102 clones. We generated 25,788 ESTs (11,380 3' and 14,408 5') from over 16,000 of these clones. Clustering of 10,654 high-quality 3' ESTs from this set identified 7232 clusters (likely genes), corresponding to a 68% gene diversity rate, comparable to what has been reported for the best normalized human cDNA libraries, and indicating that the complete set of 25,102 clones contains as many as 17,000 genes. Yet, the library quality remains high. The complete set of 25,102 clones is available for researchers as glycerol stocks, filters sets, and as individual EST clones. These resources have been used for radiation hybrid, genetic, and physical mapping of the zebrafish genome, as well as positional cloning and candidate gene identification, molecular marker, and microarray development.