6NOD image
Deposition Date 2019-01-16
Release Date 2019-01-30
Last Version Date 2024-03-13
Entry Detail
PDB ID:
6NOD
Title:
Crystal structure of C. elegans PUF-8 in complex with RNA
Biological Source:
Source Organism:
Host Organism:
Method Details:
Experimental Method:
Resolution:
2.55 Å
R-Value Free:
0.28
R-Value Work:
0.22
R-Value Observed:
0.23
Space Group:
C 1 2 1
Macromolecular Entities
Polymer Type:polypeptide(L)
Molecule:PUF (Pumilio/FBF) domain-containing
Gene (Uniprot):puf-8
Chain IDs:A, B, C
Chain Length:356
Number of Molecules:3
Biological Source:Caenorhabditis elegans
Polymer Type:polyribonucleotide
Molecule:RNA (5'-R(P*UP*GP*UP*AP*UP*AP*UP*A)-3')
Chain IDs:D, E, F
Chain Length:8
Number of Molecules:3
Biological Source:Caenorhabditis elegans
Primary Citation
Engineering a conserved RNA regulatory protein repurposes its biological function in vivo .
Elife 8 ? ? (2019)
PMID: 30652968 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.43788

Abstact

PUF (PUmilio/FBF) RNA-binding proteins recognize distinct elements. In C. elegans, PUF-8 binds to an 8-nt motif and restricts proliferation in the germline. Conversely, FBF-2 recognizes a 9-nt element and promotes mitosis. To understand how motif divergence relates to biological function, we first determined a crystal structure of PUF-8. Comparison of this structure to that of FBF-2 revealed a major difference in a central repeat. We devised a modified yeast 3-hybrid screen to identify mutations that confer recognition of an 8-nt element to FBF-2. We identified several such mutants and validated structurally and biochemically their binding to 8-nt RNA elements. Using genome engineering, we generated a mutant animal with a substitution in FBF-2 that confers preferential binding to the PUF-8 element. The mutant largely rescued overproliferation in animals that spontaneously generate tumors in the absence of puf-8. This work highlights the critical role of motif length in the specification of biological function.

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Primary Citation of related structures