title: Crystal structure of a Pumilio homology domain.
abstract: Puf proteins regulate translation and mRNA stability by binding sequences in their target RNAs through the Pumilio homology domain (PUM-HD), which is characterized by eight tandem copies of a 36 amino acid motif, the PUM repeat. We have solved the structure of the PUM-HD from human Pumilio1 at 1.9 A resolution. The structure reveals that the eight PUM repeats correspond to eight copies of a single, repeated structural motif. The PUM repeats pack together to form a right-handed superhelix that approximates a half doughnut. The distribution of side chains on the inner and outer faces of this half doughnut suggests that the inner face of the PUM-HD binds RNA while the outer face interacts with proteins such as Nanos, Brain Tumor, and cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Structural Biology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Zamore
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D003461:Crystallography; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D006801:Humans; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C074333:pum protein, Drosophila