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Kinetoplastid RNA Editing Protein A (KREPA) The KREPA 1-6 (TbMP81, 63, 42, 24, 19, and 18, respectively) proteins are components of the RNA editing complex of parasitic protozoans such as Trypanosoma and Leishmania species. These parasites have a uniquely organized mitochondrial genome, the kinetoplast. Most kinetoplast-transcribed mRNAs are cryptic and encode multiple subunits for the electron transport chain following maturation through a uridine insertion/deletion process called RNA editing. KREPAs participate in the site-specific insertion and deletion of U nucleotides in the kinetoplastid mitochondria pre-messenger RNA. The editosome, a high molecular mass enzyme complex, carries out the reaction with the help of critical enzymes and structural proteins. Five related editosome proteins KREPA1 (TbMP81), KREPA2 (TbMP63), KREPA3 (TbMP42), KREPA4 (TbMP24), KREPA5 (TbMP19), and KREPA6 (TbMP18) play critical roles in the structure and auxiliary functions of the editing process without any predicted catalytic function. The KREPA1, KREPA2, and KREPA3 proteins contain C2H2 zinc finger motifs and KREPA4 and KREPA6, contain RNA-binding domains but all have a conserved C-terminal sequences that resemble an oligonucleotide-binding (OB)-fold domain. Thus, this group of five proteins is likely to be involved in protein-protein and/or protein-RNA interactions. RNA editing is crucial for the parasite's survival in both its bloodstream and procyclic form life cycle stages which allows the parasite to adapt to its environment and maintain its viability. |
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