Colloquium – Ben Donovan

Ben Donovan, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute

Real-Time Visualization of Spliceosome Assembly Reveals Basic Principles of Splice Site Selection

Summary

1. We developed a kinetic model of splice site selection based on single-molecule imaging of the U2AF heterodimer in vitro and in vivo.
2. The RNA helicase DDX42 accelerates U2AF dissociation while in complex with the spliceosome assembly at high-affinity U2AF binding sites.
3. Overall, this work establishes how the spliceosome achieves high specificity to bona fide splice sites while still allowing for efficient forward progression.

Joint Colloquium with Dept. of Biological Sciences
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Talk: 4:00 PM, MRB III 1220
Light snacks provided at 3:45 PM in the lobby