Assembly of Functional U1 and U2 Human-Amphibian Hybrid snRNPs in Xenopus laevis oocytes

Abstract

Oligonucleotides complementary to regions of U1 and U2 small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs), when injected into Xenopus laevis oocytes, rapidly induced the specific degradation of U1 and U2 snRNAs, respectively, and then themselves were degraded. After such treatment, splicing of simian virus 40 (SV40) late pre-mRNA transcribed from microinjected viral DNA was blocked in oocytes. If before introduction of SV40 DNA into oocytes HeLa cell U1 or U2 snRNAs were injected and allowed to assemble into small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (snRNP)-like complexes, SV40 late RNA was as efficiently spliced as in oocytes that did not receive U1 or U2 oligonucleotides. This demonstrates that oocytes can form fully functional hybrid U1 and U2 snRNPs consisting of human snRNA and amphibian proteins.