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A universal code for RNA recognition by PUF proteins

Nature Chemical Biology volume 7, pages 425–427 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

The design of proteins that can bind any RNA sequence of interest has many potential biological and medical applications. Here we have expanded the recognition of Pumilio and FBF homology protein (PUF) repeats beyond adenine, guanine and uracil and evolved them to specifically bind cytosine. These repeat sequences can be used to create PUF domains capable of selectively binding RNA targets of diverse sequence and structure.

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Figure 1: Selection and characterization of PUF repeats that can specifically recognize cytosine.
Figure 2: General applicability of PUF domains in RNA recognition.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Wickens (University of Wisconsin–Madison) for the YBZ1 yeast strain, T. Ito (University of Tokyo) for the pGAD-RC plasmid, R. King for advice on oligonucleotide synthesis with trimer phosphoramidites and K.L. Hamilton for technical assistance. This work was supported by fellowships and grants from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western Australian Institute for Medical Research and Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Perth

    Aleksandra Filipovska, Muhammad F M Razif, Karoline K A Nygård & Oliver Rackham

  2. Australia,

    Aleksandra Filipovska, Muhammad F M Razif, Karoline K A Nygård & Oliver Rackham

Authors
  1. Aleksandra Filipovska
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  2. Muhammad F M Razif
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  3. Karoline K A Nygård
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  4. Oliver Rackham
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Contributions

A.F., M.F.M.R., K.K.A.N. and O.R. conducted experiments; A.F. and O.R. designed experiments, interpreted data and prepared the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Oliver Rackham.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Filipovska, A., Razif, M., Nygård, K. et al. A universal code for RNA recognition by PUF proteins. Nat Chem Biol 7, 425–427 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.577

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