Type of Submission
Poster
Keywords
Tetrahymena, Drosha, RNA
Proposal
Drosha is an enzyme used by animals to process pri-miRNA into pre-miRNA. This processing normally occurs in the nucleus. The partly processed RNA molecule is then exported to the cytosol, where it is fully processed and then used in gene regulation. While much is known about this process in animals, less is known about how unicellular organisms process miRNA. We wanted to compare miRNA processing in the unicellular eukaryote, Tetrahymena thermophila with miRNA processing in the animal kingdom. In our past studies, we have successfully purified miRNA from Tetrahymena thermophila. Our searches of the Tetrahymena Genome Database indicated the presence of multiple genes with very high levels of homology to the miRNA processing enzymes Drosha and Dicer. Because of these data, we postulated that an anti-Drosha antibody would bind to a number of proteins in Tetrahymena. We hypothesized that a Drosha-like protein would immunolocalize to the nucleus of Tetrahymena, as seen in animal systems.
Creative Commons License
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Immunolocalization of a Drosha-Like Protein in Tetrahymena thermophila
Drosha is an enzyme used by animals to process pri-miRNA into pre-miRNA. This processing normally occurs in the nucleus. The partly processed RNA molecule is then exported to the cytosol, where it is fully processed and then used in gene regulation. While much is known about this process in animals, less is known about how unicellular organisms process miRNA. We wanted to compare miRNA processing in the unicellular eukaryote, Tetrahymena thermophila with miRNA processing in the animal kingdom. In our past studies, we have successfully purified miRNA from Tetrahymena thermophila. Our searches of the Tetrahymena Genome Database indicated the presence of multiple genes with very high levels of homology to the miRNA processing enzymes Drosha and Dicer. Because of these data, we postulated that an anti-Drosha antibody would bind to a number of proteins in Tetrahymena. We hypothesized that a Drosha-like protein would immunolocalize to the nucleus of Tetrahymena, as seen in animal systems.
