rbm47, a novel RNA binding protein, regulates zebrafish head development.

Background: Vertebrate trunk induction requires inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, whereas vertebrate head induction requires concerted inhibition of both Wnt and BMP signaling. RNA binding proteins play diverse roles in embryonic development and their roles in vertebrate head development remain to be elucidated.

Results: We first characterized the human RBM47 as an RNA binding protein that specifically binds RNA but not single-stranded DNA.