enzymology 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 ...

, a polynucleotide adenylyltransferase () is an

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

catalyzes Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

the

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemistry, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an Gibbs free energy, ...

:ATP + RNA-3'OH

\rightleftharpoons

pyrophosphate In chemistry, pyrophosphates are phosphorus oxyanions that contain two phosphorus atoms in a linkage. A number of pyrophosphate salts exist, such as disodium pyrophosphate () and tetrasodium pyrophosphate (), among others. Often pyrophosphates a ...

+ RNApA-3'OH Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are ATP 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 ...

, whereas its two

products Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that can be offered to a market to satisfy the desire or need of a customer. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution ...

are

and RNA with an extra

adenosine Adenosine (symbol A) is an organic compound that occurs widely in nature in the form of diverse derivatives. The molecule consists of an adenine attached to a ribose via a β-N9- glycosidic bond. Adenosine is one of the four nucleoside build ...

nucleotide at its 3' end. Human genes with this activity include TUT1, MTPAP, PAPOLA, PAPOLB, PAPOLG, TENT2, TENT4A, TENT4B, TENT5C, TENT5D.

Function

This enzyme is responsible for the addition of the 3' polyadenine tail to a newly synthesized pre-

messenger RNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the ...

(pre-mRNA) molecule during the process of

gene transcription Transcription is the process of copying a segment of DNA into RNA for the purpose of gene expression. Some segments of DNA are transcribed into RNA molecules that can encode proteins, called messenger RNA (mRNA). Other segments of DNA are transc ...

. The protein is the final addition to a large

protein complex A protein complex or multiprotein complex is a group of two or more associated polypeptide chains. Protein complexes are distinct from multidomain enzymes, in which multiple active site, catalytic domains are found in a single polypeptide chain. ...

that also contains smaller assemblies known as the

cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor Cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF) is involved in the cleavage of the 3' signaling region from a newly synthesized pre-messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) molecule in the process of gene transcription. In eukaryotes, messenger RNA precu ...

(CPSF) and

cleavage stimulatory factor Cleavage stimulatory factor or cleavage stimulation factor (CstF or CStF) is a heterotrimeric protein, made up of the proteins CSTF1 (55 kDa), CSTF2 (64kDa) and CSTF3 (77kDa), totalling about 200 kDa. It is involved in the cleavage of the 3' si ...

(CtSF) and its binding is a necessary prerequisite to the cleavage of the 3' end of the pre-mRNA. After cleavage of the 3' signaling region that directs the assembly of the complex, polyadenylate polymerase (PAP) adds the polyadenine tail to the new 3' end. The rate at which PAP adds

adenine Adenine (, ) (nucleoside#List of nucleosides and corresponding nucleobases, symbol A or Ade) is a purine nucleotide base that is found in DNA, RNA, and Adenosine triphosphate, ATP. Usually a white crystalline subtance. The shape of adenine is ...

nucleotide Nucleotides are Organic compound, organic molecules composed of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both o ...

s is dependent on the presence of another regulatory protein, PABPII (poly-adenine binding protein II). The first few nucleotides added by PAP are added very slowly, but the short polyadenine tail is then bound by PABPII, which accelerates the rate of adenine addition by PAP. The final tail is about 200-250 adenine nucleotides long in mammals. PAP is

phosphorylated In biochemistry, phosphorylation is described as the "transfer of a phosphate group" from a donor to an acceptor. A common phosphorylating agent (phosphate donor) is ATP and a common family of acceptor are alcohols: : This equation can be writt ...

by mitosis-promoting factor, a key regulator of the

cell cycle The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the sequential series of events that take place in a cell (biology), cell that causes it to divide into two daughter cells. These events include the growth of the cell, duplication of its DNA (DNA re ...

. High phosphorylation levels decrease PAP activity.

Structural studies

As of late 2007, 27

structures A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and .

References

* * * * * * * {{Portal bar, Biology, border=no EC 2.7.7 Enzymes of known structure