Reiterated WG/GW motifs form functionally and evolutionarily conserved ARGONAUTE-binding platforms in RNAi-related components.

Two forms of RNA Polymerase IV (PolIVa/PolIVb) have been implicated in RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) in Arabidopsis. Prevailing models imply a distinct function for PolIVb by association of Argonaute4 (AGO4) with the C-terminal domain (CTD) of its largest subunit NRPD1b. Here we show that the extended CTD of NRPD1b-type proteins ...
exhibits conserved Argonaute-binding capacity through a WG/GW-rich region that functionally distinguishes Pol IVb from Pol IVa, and that is essential for RdDM. Site-specific mutagenesis and domain-swapping experiments between AtNRPD1b and the human protein GW182 demonstrated that reiterated WG/GW motifs form evolutionarily and functionally conserved Argonaute-binding platforms in RNA interference (RNAi)-related components.
Mesh Terms:
Amino Acid Motifs, Amino Acid Sequence, Arabidopsis, Arabidopsis Proteins, Conserved Sequence, DNA Methylation, DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases, Evolution, Molecular, Humans, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutagenesis, Site-Directed, Plants, Genetically Modified, Protein Binding, Protein Structure, Tertiary, Protein Subunits, RNA Interference, Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
Genes Dev.
Date: Oct. 15, 2007
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