Abstract
Vg1 mRNA translocation to the vegetal cortex of Xenopus oocytes requires intact microtubules, and a 3' UTR cis-acting element (termed VLE), which also mediates sequence-specific binding of several proteins. One protein, the 69- kD Vg1 RBP, associates Vg1 RNA to microtubules in vitro. Here we shown that Vg1 RBP-binding sites correlate with vegetal localization. Purification and cloning of Vg1 RBP revealed five RNA-binding motifs: four KH and one RRM domains. Surprisingly, Vg1 RBP is highly homologous to the zipcode binding protein implicated in the microfilament-mediated localization of β actin mRNA in fibroblasts. These data support Vg1 RBP's direct role in vegetal localization and suggest the existence of a general, evolutionarily conserved mechanism for mRNA targeting.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1593-1598 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Genes and Development |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jun 1998 |
Keywords
- KH domain
- Microtubules
- Oocytes
- RNA localization
- Vgl RBP
- Xenopus