bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.20.211441; this version posted July 21, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. The Splicing Factor XAB2 interacts with ERCC1-XPF and XPG for RNA-loop processing during mammalian development Evi Goulielmaki1*, Maria Tsekrekou1,2*, Nikos Batsiotos1,2, Mariana Ascensão-Ferreira3, Eleftheria Ledaki1, Kalliopi Stratigi1, Georgia Chatzinikolaou1, Pantelis Topalis1, Theodore Kosteas1, Janine Altmüller4, Jeroen A. Demmers5, Nuno L. Barbosa-Morais3, George A. Garinis1,2* 1. Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology- Hellas, GR70013, Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 2. Department of Biology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 3. Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal, 4. Cologne Center for Genomics (CCG), Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany, 5. Proteomics Center, Netherlands Proteomics Center, and Department of Biochemistry, Erasmus University Medical Center, the Netherlands. Corresponding author: George A. Garinis (
[email protected]) *: equally contributing authors bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.20.211441; this version posted July 21, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. Abstract RNA splicing, transcription and the DNA damage response are intriguingly linked in mammals but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using an in vivo biotinylation tagging approach in mice, we show that the splicing factor XAB2 interacts with the core spliceosome and that it binds to spliceosomal U4 and U6 snRNAs and pre-mRNAs in developing livers.