A description of the Mei2-like protein family; structure, phylogenetic distribution and biological context.
The Schizosaccharomyces pombe Mei2 gene encodes an RNA recognition motif (RRM) protein that stimulates meiosis upon binding a specific non-coding RNA and subsequent accumulation in a "mei2-dot" in the nucleus. We present here the first systematic characterization of the family of proteins with characteristic Mei2-like amino acid sequences. Mei2-like proteins are an ancient eukaryotic protein family with three identifiable RRMs. The C-terminal RRM (RRM3) is unique to Mei2-like proteins and is the most highly conserved of the three RRMs. RRM3 also contains conserved sequence elements at its C-terminus not found in other RRM domains. Single copy Mei2-like genes are present in some fungi, in alveolates such as Paramecium and in the early branching eukaryote Entamoeba histolytica, while plants contain small families of Mei2-like genes. While the C-terminal RRM is highly conserved between plants and fungi, indicating conservation of molecular mechanisms, plant Mei2-like genes have changed biological context to regulate various aspects of developmental pattern formation.
Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. djeffares@zi.ku.dk
Daniel C
DC
Jeffares
Matthew J
MJ
Phillips
Stanley
S
Moore
Bruce
B
Veit
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011487:Protein Conformation; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000235:genetics*; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; C088896:mei2 protein, S pombe