5'-3' Exoribonuclease 2 (XRN2) also known as Dhm1-like protein is an
exoribonuclease
An exoribonuclease is an exonuclease ribonuclease, which are enzymes that degrade RNA by removing terminal nucleotides from either the 5' end or the 3' end of the RNA molecule. Enzymes that remove nucleotides from the 5' end are called ''5'-3 ...
enzyme
An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''XRN2''
gene
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
.
The human gene encoding XRN2 shares similarity with the mouse Dhm1 and the yeast's Dhp1 (''
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
''Schizosaccharomyces pombe'', also called "fission yeast", is a species of yeast used in traditional brewing and as a model organism in molecular and cell biology. It is a unicellular eukaryote, whose cells are rod-shaped. Cells typically meas ...
'') or RAT1 (''
Saccharomyces
''Saccharomyces'' is a genus of fungi that includes many species of yeasts. ''Saccharomyces'' is from Greek σάκχαρον (sugar) and μύκης (fungus) and means ''sugar fungus''. Many members of this genus are considered very important in f ...
'') genes. The yeast gene is involved in
homologous recombination
Homologous recombination is a type of genetic recombination in which genetic information is exchanged between two similar or identical molecules of double-stranded or single-stranded nucleic acids (usually DNA as in Cell (biology), cellular organi ...
and
RNA
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...
metabolism
Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...
, such as RNA synthesis and RNA trafficking and termination.
Complementation studies show that Dhm1 has a similar function in mouse as Dhp1.
Function
Human XRN2 is involved in the torpedo model of transcription termination.
The ''
C. elegans
''Caenorhabditis elegans'' () is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a blend of the Greek ''caeno-'' (recent), ''rhabditis'' ( ...
'' homologue, XRN-2, is involved in the degradation of certain mature
miRNAs
Micro ribonucleic acid (microRNA, miRNA, μRNA) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules containing 21–23 nucleotides. Found in plants, animals, and even some viruses, miRNAs are involved in RNA silencing and post-trans ...
and their dislodging from
miRISC miRNAs.
In yeast, the Rat1 protein has been shown to also be involved in the torpedo transcription termination model. When a
polyadenylation
Polyadenylation is the addition of a poly(A) tail to an RNA transcript, typically a messenger RNA (mRNA). The poly(A) tail consists of multiple adenosine monophosphates; in other words, it is a stretch of RNA that has only adenine bases. In euka ...
site has been detected on the nascent RNA and cleaved by the
RNA polymerase II
RNA polymerase II (RNAP II and Pol II) is a Protein complex, multiprotein complex that Transcription (biology), transcribes DNA into precursors of messenger RNA (mRNA) and most small nuclear RNA (snRNA) and microRNA. It is one of the three RNA pol ...
, the Rtt103 factor recruits Rat1 and attaches it to free end. The exonuclease activity of Rat1 degrades the RNA strand and halts transcriptions upon catching up to the polymerase.
See also
*
Xrn1
5′-3′ exoribonuclease 1 (Xrn1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the XRN1 gene. Xrn1 hydrolyses RNA in the 5′ to 3′ direction.
Function
This gene encodes a member of the 5′-3′ exonuclease family. The encoded protein may be ...
References
External links
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Human proteins
EC 3.1.13
{{gene-20-stub