Correlation between RNA editing sites of plant organelle mRNAs and the three-dimensional structures of encoded proteins

Yura, Kei; Go, Michiko*

DNAs of Plant Organelles undergo RNA editing, a transcript repair mechanisms. Those RNA editing sites seems to be located uniformly on pre-mature mRNA. This previous finding suggested that RNA editing has nothing to do with protein function. In this study, we challenged this idea based on our new database gathering all the known RNA editing sites combined with protein three-dimensional structures. We gathered 1923 RNA editing sites out of 365 pre-mature mRNAs. We have investigated and found a good correlation between the site undergoing RNA editing and protein three-dimensional structure. The finding may suggest mechanisms and evolution of RNA editing.