Cajal body

Term ID

GO:0015030

Synonyms

• coiled body
• Gemini of coiled bodies
• Gems

Definition

A class of nuclear body, first seen after silver staining by Ramon y Cajal in 1903, enriched in small nuclear ribonucleoproteins, and certain general RNA polymerase II transcription factors; ultrastructurally, they appear as a tangle of coiled, electron-dense threads roughly 0.5 micrometers in diameter; involved in aspects of snRNP biogenesis; the protein coilin serves as a marker for Cajal bodies. Some argue that Cajal bodies are the sites for preassembly of transcriptosomes, unitary particles involved in transcription and processing of RNA. (3)

References

• NIF_Subcellular:nlx_subcell_090901
• Wikipedia:Cajal_body

Ontology

GO: Cellular Component    QuickGO    AmiGO