Quantifying the ratio of spliceosome components assembled on pre-mRNA

Methods Mol Biol. 2014:1126:257-69. doi: 10.1007/978-1-62703-980-2_19.

Abstract

RNA processing by the splicing machinery removes intronic sequences from pre-mRNA to generate mature mRNA transcripts. Many splicing events occur co-transcriptionally when the pre-mRNA is still associated with the transcription machinery. This mechanism raises questions regarding the number of spliceosomes associated with the pre-mRNA at a given time. In this protocol, we present a quantitative FISH approach that measures the ratio of intensities between two different spliceosomal components associated on a nascent mRNA, and compares to the number of introns in the mRNA, thereby calculating the number of spliceosome complexes assembled with each transcript.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Base Sequence
  • Humans
  • Introns
  • Molecular Biology / methods*
  • RNA Precursors / genetics*
  • RNA Splicing / genetics
  • Ribonucleoproteins / genetics
  • Spliceosomes / genetics*
  • Spliceosomes / ultrastructure
  • Transcription, Genetic

Substances

  • RNA Precursors
  • Ribonucleoproteins