Professor Christine H. Foyer

21-04-2023 | Online Friday Seminar | 3:30 PM | Connect with Zoom


Category: General

Pseudouridylation is a post transcriptional isomerization reaction in RNAs wherein uridine (U) gets converted to pseudouridine (Ψ) by pseudouridine synthase (PUS) enzymes. Conversion to Ψ in RNAs increases thermodynamic stability and rigidity of Ψ-A base pairs, influences RNA secondary structures and biological processes, such as RNA turnover, splicing, and translation. Deletion of PUS genes leads to growth and development defects in E. coli, yeast and plants, whereas mutations in PUS genes in humans have been linked with many neurological disorders. Furthermore, mRNAs with Ѱs modifications exhibit higher stability at high temperatures in yeast. Interestingly, few ScPUS genes are also known to be differentially regulated during heat stress which further substantiates the importance of PUS genes and pseudouridylation in defining heat stress response. In comparison to yeast and animals, very limited information is available on the biological role of PUS genes in heat stress in plants.