Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

N6, O2′-dimethyladenosine a novel methylated ribonucleoside next to the 5′ terminal of animal cell and virus mRNAs

Abstract

MODIFIED 5′-terminal structures of the type m7G(5′)ppp(5′)Nm have been identified in various viral1–4 and cellular5–8 mRNAs. The 5′-terminal modification of mRNA may be carried out by specific guanylyl- and methyltransferases9 and the structure seems to be required for efficient in vitro translation10. Studies5 of the 5′-terminal sequences of HeLa cell mRNAs revealed a methylated nucleoside that chromatographed slightly ahead of 2′-O-methyladenosine (Am). We have now identified this novel nucleoside and found that it is common to mRNAs of human and mouse cells as well as at least one virus.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wei, C. M., and Moss, B., Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 72, 318–322 (1975).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Furuichi, Y., Morgan, M., Muthukrishnan, S., and Shatkin, A. J., Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 72, 362–366 (1975).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Furuichi, Y., and Miura, K., Nature, 253, 374–375 (1975).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Abraham, G., Rhodes, D. P., and Banerjee, A. K., Cell, 5, 51–58 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Wei, C. M., Gershowitz, A., and Moss, B., Cell, 4, 379–386 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Adams, J. M., and Cory, S., Nature, 255, 28–33 (1975).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Furuichi, Y., et al., Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 72, 1904–1908 (1975).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Perry, R. P., Kelly, D. E., Friderici, K., and Rottman, F., Cell, 4, 387–394 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ensinger, M. J., Martin, S. A., Paoletti, E., and Moss, B., Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. (in the press).

  10. Both, G. W., Banerjee, A. K., and Shatkin, A. J., Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 72, 1189–1193 (1975).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Fujimoto, M., Kuninaka, A., and Yoshino, H., Agric. biol. Chem., 38, 1555–1561 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Friedkin, M., and Kalckar, H., in The Enzymes, second ed. (edit. by Boyer, P. D., Lardy. H., and Myrback, K.), 5, 237 (Academic, New York, 1961).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Moyer, S. A., Abraham, G., Adler, R., and Banerjee, A. K., Cell, 5, 59–67 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Ro-choi, T. S., Choi, Y. C., Henning, D., McCloskey, J., and Busch, H., J. biol. Chem., 250, 3291–3298 (1975).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

WEI, CM., GERSHOWITZ, A. & Moss, B. N6, O2′-dimethyladenosine a novel methylated ribonucleoside next to the 5′ terminal of animal cell and virus mRNAs. Nature 257, 251–253 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/257251a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/257251a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing