Trypanosoma brucei PUF9 regulates mRNAs for proteins involved in replicative processes over the cell cycle.

ABSTRACT: Many genes that are required at specific points in the cell cycle exhibit cell cycle-dependent expression. In the early-diverging model eukaryote and important human pathogen Trypanosoma brucei, regulation of gene expression in the cell cycle and other processes is almost entirely post-transcriptional. Here, we show that the T. brucei RNA-binding protein PUF9 stabilizes certain transcripts during S-phase. Target transcripts of PUF9--LIGKA, PNT1 and PNT2--were identified by affinity purification with TAP-tagged PUF9. RNAi against PUF9 caused an accumulation of cells in G2/M phase and unexpectedly destabilized the PUF9 target mRNAs, despite the fact that most known Puf-domain proteins promote degradation of their target mRNAs. The levels of the PUF9-regulated transcripts were cell cycle depe

SUBMITTER: Archer SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2727004 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature