The trypanosome Pumilio-domain protein PUF7 associates with a nuclear cyclophilin and is involved in ribosomal RNA maturation

Droll, Dorothea; Archer, Stuart; Fenn, Katelyn; Delhi, Praveen; Matthews, Keith; Clayton, Christine

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2010.02.018

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Volume 584, Issue 6 , Pages 1156-1162, 19 March 2010

The trypanosome Pumilio-domain protein PUF7 associates with a nuclear cyclophilin and is involved in ribosomal RNA maturation

Edited by Ulrike Kutay

Dorothea Droll
- Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, Heidelberg D69120, Germany
Stuart Archer
- Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, Heidelberg D69120, Germany
Katelyn Fenn
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, Ashworth Laboratories, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
Praveen Delhi
- Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, Heidelberg D69120, Germany
Keith Matthews
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, Ashworth Laboratories, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
Christine Clayton
- Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, Heidelberg D69120, Germany
- Corresponding author.

Received 8 September 2009; received in revised form 17 December 2009; accepted 5 February 2010. published online 11 February 2010.

Abstract

Proteins with Pumilio RNA binding domains (Puf proteins) are ubiquitous in eukaryotes. Some Puf proteins bind to the 3′-untranslated regions of mRNAs, acting to repress translation and promote degradation; others are involved in ribosomal RNA maturation. The genome of Trypanosoma brucei encodes eleven Puf proteins whose function cannot be predicted by sequence analysis. We show here that epitope-tagged TbPUF7 is located in the nucleolus, and associated with a nuclear cyclophilin-like protein, TbNCP1. RNAi targeting PUF7 reduced trypanosome growth and inhibited two steps in ribosomal RNA processing.

Keywords: Pumilio domain, Nucleolus, Cyclophilin, rRNA processing, Trypanosoma