title: Pot1, the putative telomere end-binding protein in fission yeast and humans.
abstract: Telomere proteins from ciliated protozoa bind to the single-stranded G-rich DNA extensions at the ends of macronuclear chromosomes. We have now identified homologous proteins in fission yeast and in humans. These Pot1 (protection of telomeres) proteins each bind the G-rich strand of their own telomeric repeat sequence, consistent with a direct role in protecting chromosome ends. Deletion of the fission yeast pot1+ gene has an immediate effect on chromosome stability, causing rapid loss of telomeric DNA and chromosome circularization. It now appears that the protein that caps the ends of chromosomes is widely dispersed throughout the eukaryotic kingdom.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Cech
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D020090:Chromosome Segregation / Q000235:genetics; D015825:Chromosomes, Fungal / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010053:Ovary / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000235:genetics*; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D000089804:Shelterin Complex; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D034501:Telomere-Binding Proteins
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C440849:POT1 protein, human; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D000089804:Shelterin Complex; D034501:Telomere-Binding Proteins; C499082:pot1 protein, S pombe; D004247:DNA