QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online 10 July 2007
doi: 10.1242/jcs.009357

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) OA All Versions of this Article: jcs.009357v1 120/15/2498    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sone, M. Articles by Nakagawa, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sone, M. Articles by Nakagawa, S.

The mRNA-like noncoding RNA Gomafu constitutes a novel nuclear domain in a subset of neurons

¹ Nakagawa Initiative Research Unit, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako 351-0198, Japan
² RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, 2-2-3 Minatojima Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan
³ Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: nakagawas{at}riken.jp)

Accepted 21 May 2007

Recent transcriptome analyses have revealed that a large body of noncoding regions of mammalian genomes are actually transcribed into RNAs. Our understanding of the molecular features of these noncoding RNAs is far from complete. We have identified a novel mRNA-like noncoding gene, named Gomafu, which is expressed in a distinct set of neurons in the mouse nervous system. Interestingly, spliced mature Gomafu RNA is localized to the nucleus despite its mRNA-like characteristics, which usually act as potent export signals to the cytoplasm. Within the nucleus, Gomafu RNA is detected as numerous spots that do not colocalize with known nuclear domain markers. Gomafu RNA is extremely insoluble and remains intact after nuclear matrix preparation. Furthermore, heterokaryon assays revealed that Gomafu RNA does not shuttle between the nucleus and cytoplasm, but is retained in the nucleus after its transcription. We propose that Gomafu RNA represents a novel family of mRNA-like noncoding RNA that constitutes a cell-type-specific component of the nuclear matrix.

Key words: mRNA export, Noncoding RNA, Nuclear domains, Nuclear matrix

Related articles in JCS:

A different class of RNA

JCS 2007 120: 1502. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. P. Amaral, M. E. Dinger, T. R. Mercer, and J. S. Mattick The Eukaryotic Genome as an RNA Machine Science, March 28, 2008; 319(5871): 1787 - 1789. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Watt 2007 Winners: Adi Dubash Masamitsu Sone J. Cell Sci., March 1, 2008; 121(5): 549 - 550. [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Torarinsson, Z. Yao, E. D. Wiklund, J. B. Bramsen, C. Hansen, J. Kjems, N. Tommerup, W. L. Ruzzo, and J. Gorodkin Comparative genomics beyond sequence-based alignments: RNA structures in the ENCODE regions Genome Res., February 1, 2008; 18(2): 242 - 251. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. R. Mercer, M. E. Dinger, S. M. Sunkin, M. F. Mehler, and J. S. Mattick Specific expression of long noncoding RNAs in the mouse brain PNAS, January 15, 2008; 105(2): 716 - 721. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]