The Moloney murine sarcoma virus ts110 5' splice site signal contributes to the regulation of splicing efficiency and thermosensitivity

The 5' splice site signal (5'ss) in Moloney murine sarcoma virus ts110 (MuSVts110) RNA was found to participate in the regulation of its splicing phenotype. This 5'ss (CAG/GUAGGA) departs from the mammalian consensus (CAG/GURAGU) at positions +4 and +6, both of which base pair with U1 and U6 small nuclear RNAs during splicing. A doubling in splicing efficiency and near elimination of the splicing thermosensitivity characteristic of MuSVts110 were observed in 5'ss mutants containing a U at position +6 (termed 5'A6U), even in those in which U1-5'ss complementarity had been reduced. At the permissive temperature (28 degrees C), the 5'A6U mutation increased the efficiency of the second splicing reaction, while at the nonpermissive temperature (39 degrees C), both splicing reactions were positively affected.