The target specificity of the RNA binding protein Pumilio is determined by distinct co-factors.

Biosci Rep

School of Biological Sciences and Technology, Chonnam National University, Yongbong-Dong, Gwangju-Si 500-757, South Korea

Published: June 2019

AI Article Synopsis

  • Puf family proteins are important for various biological processes, such as cell fate and stem cell maintenance, but how they choose their RNA targets is not fully understood.
  • A study identified Bag-of-marbles (Bam) as a new partner for the Puf protein Pumilio, which helps regulate specific mRNAs without relying on another cofactor, Nanos (Nos).
  • The research demonstrated that while Nos is necessary for Pum's interaction with some mRNAs, Bam is crucial for Pum's interaction with others, highlighting that Pum's target selection depends on its collaboration with different cofactors.

Article Abstract

Puf family proteins are translational regulators essential to a wide range of biological processes, including cell fate specification, stem cell self-renewal, and neural function. Yet, despite being associated with hundreds of RNAs, the underlying mechanisms of Puf target specification remain to be fully elucidated. In , Pumilio - a sole Puf family protein - is known to collaborate with cofactors Nanos (Nos) and Brain Tumor (Brat); however, their roles in target specification are not clearly defined. Here, we identify Bag-of-marbles (Bam) as a new Pum cofactor in repression of () mRNAs, for which Nos is known to be dispensable. Notably, our data show that Nos (but not Bam) was required for Pum association with () mRNAs, a well-known target of Pum and Nos. In contrast, Bam (but not Nos) was required for Pum association with mRNAs. These findings show for the first time that Pum target specificity is determined not independently but in collaboration with cofactors.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6549094PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1042/BSR20190099DOI Listing

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