Introducing ALZET?ew Model 2006 Pump Sign up for PNAS Online eTocs
Link: Info for AuthorsLink: Editorial BoardLink: AboutLink: SubscribeLink: AdvertiseLink: ContactLink: Sitemap Link: PNAS Home
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Link: Current Issue "" Link: Archives "" Link: Online Submission ""  Link: Advanced Search

Published online on February 19, 2002, 10.1073/pnas.042700299
PNAS | March 19, 2002 | vol. 99 | no. 6 | 3701-3705


This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a colleague
Right arrow Related Commentary in PNAS
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Copyright Permission
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (63)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nixon, J. E. J.
Right arrow Articles by Samuelson, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nixon, J. E. J.
Right arrow Articles by Samuelson, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg  
What's this?

 Previous Article  | Table of Contents |  Next Article 

From the Cover
Evolution
 A spliceosomal intron in Giardia lamblia

Julie E. J. Nixon*, Amy Wang*, Hilary G. Morrisondagger , Andrew G. McArthurdagger , Mitchell L. Sogindagger ,Dagger , Brendan J. Loftus§, and John Samuelson*

* Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115-6018; dagger  Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02453-1015; and § Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, MD 20850

Communicated by Robert Haselkorn, Integrated Genomics, Inc., Chicago, IL, December 26, 2001 (received for review December 17, 2001)

Short introns occur in numerous protist lineages, but there are no reports of intervening sequences in the protists Giardia lamblia and Trichomonas vaginalis, which may represent the deepest known branches in the eukaryotic line of descent. We have discovered a 35-bp spliceosomal intron in a gene encoding a putative [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin of G. lamblia. The Giardia intron contains a canonical splice site at its 3' end (AG), a noncanonical splice site at its 5' end (CT), and a branch point sequence that fits the yeast consensus sequence of TACTAAC except for the first nucleotide (AACTAAC). We have also identified several G. lamblia genes with spliceosomal peptides, including homologues of eukaryote-specific spliceosomal peptides (Prp8 and Prp11), several DExH-box RNA-helicases that have homologues in eubacteria, but serve essential functions in the splicing of introns in eukaryotes, and 11 predicted archaebacteria-like Sm and like-Sm core peptides, which coat small nuclear RNAs. Phylogenetic analyses show the Giardia Sm core peptides are the products of multiple, ancestral gene duplications followed by divergence, but they retain strong similarity to Sm and like-Sm peptides of other eukaryotes. Although we have documented only a single intron in Giardia, it likely has other introns and fully functional, spliceosomal machinery. If introns were added during eukaryotic evolution (the introns-late hypothesis), then these results push back the date of this event before the branching of G. lamblia.

Dagger To whom reprint requests should be addressed. E-mail sogin{at}mbl.edu.

www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.042700299
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg    What's this?

Related Commentary in PNAS:

Spliceosomal introns in a deep-branching eukaryote: The splice of life
Patricia J. Johnson
PNAS 2002 99: 3359-3361. [Extract] [Full Text]  



This article has been cited by other articles in HighWire Press-hosted journals:


Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
M. Csuros, I. B. Rogozin, and E. V. Koonin
Extremely Intron-Rich Genes in the Alveolate Ancestors Inferred with a Flexible Maximum-Likelihood Approach
Mol. Biol. Evol., May 1, 2008; 25(5): 903 - 911.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Nucleic Acids ResHome page
M. D. Lopez, M. Alm Rosenblad, and T. Samuelsson
Computational screen for spliceosomal RNA genes aids in defining the phylogenetic distribution of major and minor spliceosomal components
Nucleic Acids Res., April 4, 2008; (2008) gkn142v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
Y.-H. Loh, S. Brenner, and B. Venkatesh
Investigation of Loss and Gain of Introns in the Compact Genomes of Pufferfishes (Fugu and Tetraodon)
Mol. Biol. Evol., March 1, 2008; 25(3): 526 - 535.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
C. E. Lane, K. van den Heuvel, C. Kozera, B. A. Curtis, B. J. Parsons, S. Bowman, and J. M. Archibald
Nucleomorph genome of Hemiselmis andersenii reveals complete intron loss and compaction as a driver of protein structure and function
PNAS, December 11, 2007; 104(50): 19908 - 19913.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ScienceHome page
H. G. Morrison, A. G. McArthur, F. D. Gillin, S. B. Aley, R. D. Adam, G. J. Olsen, A. A. Best, W. Z. Cande, F. Chen, M. J. Cipriano, et al.
Genomic Minimalism in the Early Diverging Intestinal Parasite Giardia lamblia
Science, September 28, 2007; 317(5846): 1921 - 1926.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Nucleic Acids ResHome page
X. Chen, T. S. Rozhdestvensky, L. J. Collins, J. Schmitz, and D. Penny
Combined experimental and computational approach to identify non-protein-coding RNAs in the deep-branching eukaryote Giardia intestinalis
Nucleic Acids Res., July 9, 2007; 35(14): 4619 - 4628.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BioinformaticsHome page
M. Csuros, J. A. Holey, and I. B. Rogozin
In search of lost introns
Bioinformatics, July 1, 2007; 23(13): i87 - i96.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Genome Res.Home page
L. Carmel, Y. I. Wolf, I. B. Rogozin, and E. V. Koonin
Three distinct modes of intron dynamics in the evolution of eukaryotes
Genome Res., July 1, 2007; 17(7): 1034 - 1044.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Eukaryot CellHome page
C. A. Davis, M. P. S. Brown, and U. Singh
Functional Characterization of Spliceosomal Introns and Identification of U2, U4, and U5 snRNAs in the Deep-Branching Eukaryote Entamoeba histolytica
Eukaryot. Cell, June 1, 2007; 6(6): 940 - 948.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Nucleic Acids ResHome page
S. Teodorovic, C. D. Walls, and H. G. Elmendorf
Bidirectional transcription is an inherent feature of Giardia lamblia promoters and contributes to an abundance of sterile antisense transcripts throughout the genome
Nucleic Acids Res., April 3, 2007; 35(8): 2544 - 2553.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
S. W. Roy and D. Penny
Patterns of Intron Loss and Gain in Plants: Intron Loss-Dominated Evolution and Genome-Wide Comparison of O. sativa and A. thaliana
Mol. Biol. Evol., January 1, 2007; 24(1): 171 - 181.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Genome Res.Home page
S. W. Roy and D. L. Hartl
Very little intron loss/gain in Plasmodium: Intron loss/gain mutation rates and intron number
Genome Res., June 1, 2006; 16(6): 750 - 756.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Genome Res.Home page
N. L. Barbosa-Morais, M. Carmo-Fonseca, and S. Aparicio
Systematic genome-wide annotation of spliceosomal proteins reveals differential gene family expansion
Genome Res., January 1, 2006; 16(1): 66 - 77.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
S. Hausmann and S. Shuman
Giardia lamblia RNA Cap Guanine-N2 Methyltransferase (Tgs2)
J. Biol. Chem., September 16, 2005; 280(37): 32101 - 32106.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 RNAHome page
Z.-P. HUANG, H. ZHOU, H.-L. HE, C.-L. CHEN, D. LIANG, and L.-H. QU
Genome-wide analyses of two families of snoRNA genes from Drosophila melanogaster, demonstrating the extensive utilization of introns for coding of snoRNAs
RNA, August 1, 2005; 11(8): 1303 - 1316.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Eukaryot CellHome page
L. Li and C. C. Wang
Identification in the Ancient Protist Giardia lamblia of Two Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4E Homologues with Distinctive Functions
Eukaryot. Cell, May 1, 2005; 4(5): 948 - 959.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
S. Hausmann, M. A. Altura, M. Witmer, S. M. Singer, H. G. Elmendorf, and S. Shuman
Yeast-like mRNA Capping Apparatus in Giardia lamblia
J. Biol. Chem., April 1, 2005; 280(13): 12077 - 12086.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
L. Collins and D. Penny
Complex Spliceosomal Organization Ancestral to Extant Eukaryotes
Mol. Biol. Evol., April 1, 2005; 22(4): 1053 - 1066.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
S. Vanacova, W. Yan, J. M. Carlton, and P. J. Johnson
Spliceosomal introns in the deep-branching eukaryote Trichomonas vaginalis
PNAS, March 22, 2005; 102(12): 4430 - 4435.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
D.-D. Xin, J.-F. Wen, D. He, and S.-Q. Lu
Identification of a Giardia krr1 Homolog Gene and the Secondarily Anucleolate Condition of Giaridia lamblia
Mol. Biol. Evol., March 1, 2005; 22(3): 391 - 394.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
S. W. Roy and W. Gilbert
Complex early genes
PNAS, February 8, 2005; 102(6): 1986 - 1991.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 MicrobiologyHome page
M. J. Nicholson, M. K. Theodorou, and J. L. Brookman
Molecular analysis of the anaerobic rumen fungus Orpinomyces - insights into an AT-rich genome
Microbiology, January 1, 2005; 151(1): 121 - 133.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Genome Res.Home page
S. Cho, S.-W. Jin, A. Cohen, and R. E. Ellis
A Phylogeny of Caenorhabditis Reveals Frequent Loss of Introns During Nematode Evolution
Genome Res., July 1, 2004; 14(7): 1207 - 1220.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
L. Li and C. C. Wang
Capped mRNA with a Single Nucleotide Leader Is Optimally Translated in a Primitive Eukaryote, Giardia lamblia
J. Biol. Chem., April 9, 2004; 279(15): 14656 - 14664.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 GeneticsHome page
J. Parsch
Selective Constraints on Intron Evolution in Drosophila
Genetics, December 1, 2003; 165(4): 1843 - 1851.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ScienceHome page
M. Lynch and J. S. Conery
The Origins of Genome Complexity
Science, November 21, 2003; 302(5649): 1401 - 1404.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Genome Res.Home page
A. Fedorov, S. Roy, L. Fedorova, and W. Gilbert
Mystery of Intron Gain
Genome Res., October 1, 2003; 13(10): 2236 - 2241.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
V. Seshadri, A. G. McArthur, M. L. Sogin, and R. D. Adam
Giardia lamblia RNA Polymerase II: AMANITIN-RESISTANT TRANSCRIPTION
J. Biol. Chem., July 18, 2003; 278(30): 27804 - 27810.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 MicrobiologyHome page
P. Suchan, D. Vyoral, J. Petrak, R. Sut'ak, D. Rasoloson, E. Nohynkova, P. Dolezal, and J. Tachezy
Incorporation of iron into Tritrichomonas foetus cell compartments reveals ferredoxin as a major iron-binding protein in hydrogenosomes
Microbiology, July 1, 2003; 149(7): 1911 - 1921.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ScienceHome page
T. Mourier and D. C. Jeffares
Eukaryotic Intron Loss
Science, May 30, 2003; 300(5624): 1393 - 1393.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
R. Tarrio, F. Rodriguez-Trelles, and F. J. Ayala
A new Drosophila spliceosomal intron position is common in plants
PNAS, May 27, 2003; 100(11): 6580 - 6583.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
M. Lynch and A. Kewalramani
Messenger RNA Surveillance and the Evolutionary Proliferation of Introns
Mol. Biol. Evol., April 1, 2003; 20(4): 563 - 571.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
A. Fedorov, A. F. Merican, and W. Gilbert
Large-scale comparison of intron positions among animal, plant, and fungal genes
PNAS, December 10, 2002; 99(25): 16128 - 16133.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
N. Iwabe and T. Miyata
Kinesin-Related Genes from Diplomonad, Sponge, Amphioxus, and Cyclostomes: Divergence Pattern of Kinesin Family and Evolution of Giardial Membrane-Bounded Organella
Mol. Biol. Evol., September 1, 2002; 19(9): 1524 - 1533.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
P. J. Johnson
Spliceosomal introns in a deep-branching eukaryote: The splice of life
PNAS, March 19, 2002; 99(6): 3359 - 3361.
[Full Text] [PDF]