title: A developmentally regulated, nervous system-specific gene in Xenopus encodes a putative RNA-binding protein.
abstract: A gene from Xenopus laevis that is expressed specifically in the nervous system beginning at the stage of neural plate formation has been isolated and several cDNAs have been sequenced. The sequence of the predicted protein contains two copies of a presumed RNA-binding domain, each of which includes two short conserved motifs characteristic for ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), called the RNP-1 and RNP-2 consensus sequences. We name this gene Xenopus nrp-1, for nervous system-specific RNP protein-1. Sequence comparisons suggest that the nrp-1 protein is a heterogeneous nuclear RNP protein, but it is clearly distinct from previously reported hnRNP proteins such as the A1, A2/B1, and C1 proteins. nrp-1 RNA undergoes an alternative splicing event giving rise to two predicted protein isoforms that differ from each other by seven amino acids. In situ hybridization to tadpole brain shows that the nrp-1 gene is expressed in the ventricular zone where cell proliferation takes place. The occurrence of an RNP protein with nervous system-limited expression suggests that it may be involved in the tissue-specific control of RNA processing.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology, Austrian Academy of Science, Salzburg.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Good
authors.forename: I B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Dawid
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D000076245:Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1; D034481:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Group A-B; D034482:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Group C; D034441:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoproteins; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009420:Nervous System / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional / Q000235:genetics; D012326:RNA Splicing; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: C439788:C1 HNRNP; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C503635:HNRNPC protein, human; D000076245:Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1; D034481:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Group A-B; D034482:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Group C; D034441:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoproteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; C439768:hnRNP A2; C068598:Msi1 protein, Xenopus; D012313:RNA