Signal recognition particles (SRPs) are found in all living organisms on earth. They contain a short RNA molecule which is essential for cellular trafficking and secretion of proteins. Scientists in the research group headed by Dr. Lennart Randau at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg in their recent publication in the journal eLife describe the discovery of a novel type of SRP RNA molecules that are circularized to function in the cell. These unusual RNA circles are generated by a moonlighting activity of the machinery that is usually responsible for the removal of introns in transfer RNAs.
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