Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 19/11/2004 |
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<mark>Journal</mark> | Molecular Cell |
Issue number | 4 |
Volume | 16 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Pages (from-to) | 587-596 |
Publication Status | Published |
Early online date | 18/11/04 |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a surveillance mechanism that eliminates mRNAs containing premature termination codons (PTCs). The proteins UPF1, SMG5, SMG6, and SMG7 are essential NMD factors in metazoa. SMG5 and SMG7 form a complex with UPF1 and interact with each other via their N-terminal domains. Here we show that SMG5 and SMG7 colocalize in cytoplasmic mRNA decay bodies, while SMG6 forms separate cytoplasmic foci. When SMG7 is tethered to a reporter transcript, it elicits its degradation, bypassing the requirement for a PTC, UPF1, SMG5, or SMG6. This activity is mediated by the C-terminal domain of SMG7. In contrast, SMG5 requires SMG7 to trigger mRNA decay and to localize to decay bodies. Our findings indicate that SMG7 provides a link between the NMD and the mRNA degradation machinery by interacting with SMG5 and UPF1 via its N-terminal domain and targeting bound transcripts for decay via its C-terminal domain.