Small nucleolar RNA SNORD46

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Small nucleolar RNA SNORD46

Type:	Gene; snRNA; guide; CD-box;
2° structure:	Predicted; Griffiths-Jones SR
Seed alignment:	Griffiths-Jones SR
Avg length:	87.9 nucleotides
Avg identity:	70%

snoRNA U46 (also known as SNORD46) is a non-coding RNA (ncRNA) molecule which functions in the modification of other small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs). This type of modifiying RNA is usually located in the nucleolus of the eukaryotic cell which is a major site of snRNA biogenesis. It is known as a small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) and also often referred to as a guide RNA.

snoRNA U46 belongs to the C/D box class of snoRNAs which contain the conserved sequence motifs known as the C box (UGAUGA) and the D box (CUGA). Most of the members of the box C/D family function in directing site-specific 2'-O-methylation of substrate RNAs^[1].

U46 is encoded in intron 2 of the ribosomal protein S8 gene in human, and is hypothesised to guide methylation of 2'-O-ribose residues on 28S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) ^[2]^[3]. The homologue of this snoRNA in Arabidopsis thaliana is called snoZ153 ^[4]. It should be noted that some human U40 sequence has been annotated in the sequence databases (Genbank) as U46.

[edit] References

^ Galardi, S; Fatica A, Bachi A, Scaloni A, Presutti C, Bozzoni I (2002). "Purified box C/D snoRNPs are able to reproduce site-specific 2'-O-methylation of target RNA in vitro". Mol Cell Biol 22: 6663–6668. doi:10.1128/MCB.22.19.6663-6668.2002. PMID 12215523.
^ Nicoloso, M; Qu LH, Michot B, Bachellerie JP (1996). "Intron-encoded, antisense small nucleolar RNAs: the characterization of nine novel species points to their direct role as guides for the 2'-O-ribose methylation of rRNAs". J Mol Biol 260: 178–195. doi:10.1006/jmbi.1996.0391. PMID 8764399.
^ Lestrade, L; Weber MJ (2006). "snoRNA-LBME-db, a comprehensive database of human H/ACA and C/D box snoRNAs". Nucleic Acids Res. 34: D158–D162. doi:10.1093/nar/gkj002. PMID 16381836.
^ Chen, CL; Liang D, Zhou H, Zhuo M, Chen YQ, Qu LH (2003). "The high diversity of snoRNAs in plants: identification and comparative study of 120 snoRNA genes from Oryza sativa". Nucleic Acids Res 31: 2601–2613. doi:10.1093/nar/gkg373. PMID 12736310.