Transient Interaction Between Dbp5 and Mex67 Facilitates Mex67 Removal During mRNA Export

Publication Date

2026

Presentation Length

Poster/Gallery presentation

College

College of Sciences & Mathematics

Department

Biology, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

Faculty Mentor

Rebecca Adams, PhD

Presentation Type

Poster

Summary

When transcription occurs in the yeast S. cerevisiae, immature mRNA is stored inside the nucleus until it is ready to be transported into the cytoplasm via the nuclear pore complex (NPC). During the process of maturation for export, a variety of transport proteins attach to mRNA, one of which is Mex67. Its binding allows mRNA to leave the nucleus via the NPC, and after leaving, a protein known as Dbp5 attached to the cytoplasmic side of the NPC by the nucleoporin Nup159 removes Mex67 in a process known as mRNA processing, which prepares mRNA for translation and allows Mex67 to return to the nucleus to prepare more mRNA for exportation. This interaction between Dbp5 and Mex67 is vital for mRNA export through the NPC, however it is hard to observe due to the dynamic state of the interaction which lasts less than 1 second. Therefore, we question how Dbp5 can selectively remove Mex67 while ignoring other transport proteins and hypothesize that there is a transient interaction between Dbp5 and Mex67 that facilitates Mex67’s removal. The method we used to test for this interaction is Split-Ubiquitin Yeast Two-Hybrid (SU Y2H), which is conducted by attaching the Cub end of ubiquitin and Ura3, a transcription factor for an enzyme capable of biosynthesizing uracil, to Dbp5 and the Nub end of ubiquitin to Mex67 and then plating the yeast on a 5-FOA plate, which is toxic to uracil-producing yeast, so that if an interaction between Dbp5 and Mex67 occurs, the Cub and Nub ends will join together and form a whole ubiquitin, which is able to degrade Ura3 and allow the yeast survive on the plate. We anticipate that there will be growth on a 5-FOA plate after our experiment concludes. Future directions are to create Dbp5-Cub-Ura3 plasmids and transform Mex67 chromosome with Nub for this purpose.

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