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Featured Articles - May 2012

Featured Articles highlight the best papers published in NAR. These articles are chosen by the Executive Editors on the recommendation of Editorial Board Members and Referees. They represent the top 5% of papers in terms of originality, significance and scientific excellence. The articles are accompanied by a brief synopsis explaining the findings of the paper and where they fit in the broader context of nucleic acids research.

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The transition in spliceosome assembly from complex E to complex A purges surplus U1 snRNPs from alternative splice sites
Mark J. Hodson, Andrew J. Hudson, Dmitry Cherny, and Ian C. Eperon

The splicing of pre-mRNA is a complex process involving the participation of over a hundred proteins and small RNA molecules into a dynamic assemblage built around the splice sites. Somehow, this process is linked to the selection of the correct sites, a difficult feat because the sequences of the sites often lack sufficient information and because alternative or hidden sites can be used instead. It has always been assumed that the sites are selected when components first bind and become connected, but other recent data suggest otherwise. The authors show here by single molecule methods that U1 snRNPs, even though they recognise 5 splice sites, can bind in multiple copies to the pre-mRNA and that ATP-dependent processes purge the surplus copies. They suggest a novel biophysical mechanism to account for the position-dependence of splice site selection when strong sites compete. Read on

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Evidence that RNA polymerase II and not TFIIB is responsible for the difference in transcription initiation patterns between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Chen Yang and Alfred S. Ponticelli

This study demonstrates that the general transcription factor IIB does not play a direct role in the different transcription start site recognition/utilization patterns by RNA polymerase II between the yeasts Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as previously proposed. The authors discuss these findings within the broader context of a proposed evolutionary mechanistic coupling of the processes of RNA transcript elongation proficiency by eukaryotic RNA polymerase II and the efficiency of early bond formation during the initiation of RNA synthesis. Read on