Taxonomic distribution of proteins containing Pumilio domains

The tree below includes only several representative species and genera. The complete taxonomic breakdown of all proteins containing Pumilio domains can be accessed here. Click the counts or percentage values to display the corresponding proteins.

Novel predicted RNA-binding domains associated with the translation machinery.

Aravind L, Koonin EV
J Mol Evol. 1999; 48: 291-302

Two previously undetected domains were identified in a variety of RNA-binding proteins, particularly RNA-modifying enzymes, using methods for sequence profile analysis. A small domain consisting of 60-65 amino acid residues was detected in the ribosomal protein S4, two families of pseudouridine synthases, a novel family of predicted RNA methylases, a yeast protein containing a pseudouridine synthetase and a deaminase domain, bacterial tyrosyl-tRNA synthetases, and a number of uncharacterized, small proteins that may be involved in translation regulation. Another novel domain, designated PUA domain, after PseudoUridine synthase and Archaeosine transglycosylase, was detected in archaeal and eukaryotic pseudouridine synthases, archaeal archaeosine synthases, a family of predicted ATPases that may be involved in RNA modification, a family of predicted archaeal and bacterial rRNA methylases. Additionally, the PUA domain was detected in a family of eukaryotic proteins that also contain a domain homologous to the translation initiation factor eIF1/SUI1; these proteins may comprise a novel type of translation factors. Unexpectedly, the PUA domain was detected also in bacterial and yeast glutamate kinases; this is compatible with the demonstrated role of these enzymes in the regulation of the expression of other genes. We propose that the S4 domain and the PUA domain bind RNA molecules with complex folded structures, adding to the growing collection of nucleic acid-binding domains associated with DNA and RNA modification enzymes. The evolution of the translation machinery components containing the S4, PUA, and SUI1 domains must have included several events of lateral gene transfer and gene loss as well as lineage-specific domain fusions.

The Pumilio RNA-binding domain is also a translational regulator.

Wharton RP, Sonoda J, Lee T, Patterson M, Murata Y
Mol Cell. 1998; 1: 863-72

Posterior patterning in the Drosophila embryo requires the action of Nanos (Nos) and Pumilio (Pum), which collaborate to regulate the translation of maternal hunchback (hb) mRNA. Previous work demonstrated that Pum recognizes sites in the 3' UTR of hb mRNA. In this report, we first define the RNA-binding domain of Pum and then show that residues essential for translational repression are embedded within this domain. We also show that Nos and Pum can repress cap-independent translation from an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) in vivo, suggesting that they act downstream of the initial steps of normal, cap-dependent translation.

A CCHC metal-binding domain in Nanos is essential for translational regulation.

Curtis D, Treiber DK, Tao F, Zamore PD, Williamson JR, Lehmann R
EMBO J. 1997; 16: 834-43

The Drosophila Nanos protein is a localized repressor of hunchback mRNA translation in the early embryo, and is required for the establishment of the anterior-posterior body axis. Analysis of nanos mutants reveals that a small, evolutionarily conserved, C-terminal region is essential for Nanos function in vivo, while no other single portion of the Nanos protein is absolutely required. Within the C-terminal region are two unusual Cys-Cys-His-Cys (CCHC) motifs that are potential zinc-binding sites. Using absorption spectroscopy and NMR we demonstrate that the CCHC motifs each bind one equivalent of zinc with high affinity. nanos mutations disrupting metal binding at either of these two sites in vitro abolish Nanos translational repression activity in vivo. We show that full-length and C-terminal Nanos proteins bind to RNA in vitro with high affinity, but with little sequence specificity. Mutations affecting the hunchback mRNA target sites for Nanos-dependent translational repression were found to disrupt translational repression in vivo, but had little effect on Nanos RNA binding in vitro. Thus, the Nanos zinc domain does not specifically recognize target hunchback RNA sequences, but might interact with RNA in the context of a larger ribonucleoprotein complex.

The Pumilio protein binds RNA through a conserved domain that defines a new class of RNA-binding proteins.

Zamore PD, Williamson JR, Lehmann R
RNA. 1997; 3: 1421-33

Translation of hunchback(mat) (hb[mat]) mRNA must be repressed in the posterior of the pre-blastoderm Drosophila embryo to permit formation of abdominal segments. This translational repression requires two copies of the Nanos Response Element (NRE), a 16-nt sequence in the hb[mat] 3' untranslated region. Translational repression also requires the action of two proteins: Pumilio (PUM), a sequence-specific RNA-binding protein; and Nanos, a protein that determines the location of repression. Binding of PUM to the NRE is thought to target hb(mat) mRNA for repression. Here, we show the RNA-binding domain of PUM to be an evolutionarily conserved, 334-amino acid region at the carboxy-terminus of the approximately 158-kDa PUM protein. This contiguous region of PUM retains the RNA-binding specificity of full-length PUM protein. Proteins with sequences homologous to the PUM RNA-binding domain are found in animals, plants, and fungi. The high degree of sequence conservation of the PUM RNA-binding domain in other far-flung species suggests that the domain is an ancient protein motif, and we show that conservation of sequence reflects conservation of function: that is, the homologous region from a human protein binds RNA with sequence specificity related to but distinct from Drosophila PUM.

A conserved RNA-binding protein that regulates sexual fates in the C. elegans hermaphrodite germ line.

Zhang B, Gallegos M, Puoti A, Durkin E, Fields S, Kimble J, Wickens MP
Nature. 1997; 390: 477-84

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has two sexes, males and hermaphrodites. Hermaphrodites Initially produce sperm but switch to producing oocytes. This switch appears to be controlled by the 3' untranslated region of fem-3 messenger RNA. We have now identified a binding factor (FBF) which is a cytoplasmic protein that binds specifically to the regulatory region of fem-3 3'UTR and mediates the sperm/oocyte switch. The RNA-binding domain of FBF consists of a stretch of eight tandem repeats and two short flanking regions. This structural element is conserved in several proteins including Drosophila Pumilio, a regulatory protein that controls pattern formation in the fly by binding to a 3'UTR. We propose that FBF and Pumilio are members of a widespread family of sequence-specific RNA-binding proteins.

The Drosophila pumilio gene: an unusually long transcription unit and an unusual protein.

Macdonald PM
Development. 1992; 114: 221-32

Specification of the posterior body plan in Drosophila requires the action of a determinant prelocalized to the posterior pole of the embryo. During embryogenesis this determinant appears to move anteriorly in a process dependent on the pumilio (pum) gene. This report describes the cloning and molecular characterization of a cDNA derived from the pum gene, and the analysis of pum mRNA and protein expression during early Drosophila development. The pum gene is unusually large; comparison of genomic and cDNA sequences reveals that the pum transcription unit is at least 160 kb in length. The pum cDNA encodes a 157 x 10(3) M(r) protein which consists mainly of regions enriched in a single amino acid, usually glycine, alanine, glutamine or serine/threonine. Six tandem repeats of a 36 amino acid repeat unit are also present. Pum protein is cytoplasmic and is concentrated in a subcortical region of the embryo. The distribution of pum protein exhibits no asymmetry along the anteroposterior axis of the embryo.