Abstract
A biochemical characterization was performed with a partially purified RNA ligase from isolated mitochondria of Leishmania tarentolae. This ligase has a K(m) of 25 ± 0.75 nM and a V(max) of 1.0 x 10-4 ± 2.4 x 10-4 nmol/min when ligating a nicked double-stranded RNA substrate. Ligation was negatively affected by a gap between the donor and acceptor nucleotides. The catalytic efficiency of the circularization of a single-stranded substrate was 5-fold less than that of the ligation of a nicked substrate. These properties of the mitochondrial RNA ligase are consistent with an expected in vivo role in the process of uridine insertion]deletion RNA editing, in which the mRNA cleavage fragments are bridged by a cognate guide RNA.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 24289-24296 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Biological Chemistry |
Volume | 274 |
Issue number | 34 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 20 1999 |