title: Regulation of the ELAV target ewg: insights from an evolutionary perspective.
abstract: ELAV (embryonic lethal abnormal visual system)/Hu family proteins are prototype RNA-binding proteins with binding preferences for AU-rich regions. Due to frequent occurrence of AU-rich motifs in introns and untranslated regions, it is poorly understood how gene-specific RNA-binding proteins, such as ELAV/Hu family members, recognize their complement of target RNAs in a complex cellular environment. The powerful genetic tools of Drosophila make the fruitfly an excellent model to study alternative mRNA processing in vivo in a developing organism. Recent sequencing of 12 Drosophila genomes will provide a novel resource to enhance our understanding of how gene-specific regulation of mRNA processing is achieved by ELAV/Hu family proteins.
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. m.soller@bham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soller
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Irmgard U
authors.initials: IU
authors.lastname: Haussmann
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051959:ELAV Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051959:ELAV Proteins; C081334:EWG protein, Drosophila; D009479:Neuropeptides; D014157:Transcription Factors