Entamoeba histolytica spliceosome structural components

Discontinuity in eukaryotic genes has been one of the most fascinating discoveries in molecular biology, involving small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) to remove the intervening non-coding sequences from precursor mRNA transcripts. They assemble with proteins to form a macromolecular complex called a spliceosome. The spliceosome recognizes and removes a single intron while joining flanking exons. The spliceosome’s molecular process can be summarized in four steps: assembly, activation, catalysis and disassembly. During this process, the spliceosome undergoes different reconfigurations that have been characterized biochemically and have recently been structurally addressed mainly in Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; however, in Entamoeba histolytica , the structure of the spliceosome can only be inferred, so in this article, we contribute to the structure of some components that make up this molecular complex in this protozoan parasite.