title: Revealing a new activity of the human Dicer DUF283 domain in vitro.
abstract: The ribonuclease Dicer is a multidomain enzyme that plays a fundamental role in the biogenesis of small regulatory RNAs (srRNAs), which control gene expression by targeting complementary transcripts and inducing their cleavage or repressing their translation. Recent studies of Dicer's domains have permitted to propose their roles in srRNA biogenesis. For all of Dicer's domains except one, called DUF283 (domain of unknown function), their involvement in RNA substrate recognition, binding or cleavage has been postulated. For DUF283, the interaction with Dicer's protein partners has been the only function suggested thus far. In this report, we demonstrate that the isolated DUF283 domain from human Dicer is capable of binding single-stranded nucleic acids in vitro. We also show that DUF283 can act as a nucleic acid annealer that accelerates base-pairing between complementary RNA/DNA molecules in vitro. We further demonstrate an annealing activity of full length human Dicer. The overall results suggest that Dicer, presumably through its DUF283 domain, might facilitate hybridization between short RNAs and their targets. The presented findings reveal the complex nature of Dicer, whose functions may extend beyond the biogenesis of srRNAs.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 61-704 Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurzynska-Kokorniak
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 61-704 Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pokornowska
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 61-704 Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koralewska
authors.affiliation: Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of University of Gdansk and Medical University of Gdansk, 80-822 Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Weronika
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of University of Gdansk and Medical University of Gdansk, 80-822 Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Krystyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bienkowska-Szewczyk
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 61-704 Poznan, Poland.|Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Figlerowicz
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases / Q000737:chemistry*; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008274:Magnesium / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D011485:Protein Binding; D000072417:Protein Domains; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000737:chemistry; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000737:chemistry; D043244:Ribonuclease III / Q000737:chemistry*; D015032:Zinc / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; C408087:DICER1 protein, human; D043244:Ribonuclease III; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D008274:Magnesium; D015032:Zinc