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Published on November 6, 2009; 10.1104/pp.109.145656

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Received July 31, 2009
Accepted November 2, 2009

The Arabidopsis tandem zinc finger protein AtTZF1 traffics between the nucleus and cytoplasmic foci and binds both DNA and RNA

Marcelo C. Pomeranz , Cyrus Hah , Pei-Chi Lin , Shin Gene Kang , John J. Finer , Perry J. Blackshear , and Jyan-Chyun Jang *

Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210; Plant Biotechnology Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210; Department of Plant Cellular and Molecular Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210; Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, OH 44691; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709; Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710

* Corresponding author; email: jang.40{at}osu.edu.

Processing bodies (P-bodies) are specialized cytoplasmic foci where mRNA turnover and translational repression can take place. Stress granules (SGs) are related cytoplasmic foci. The CCCH tandem zinc finger proteins (TZFs) play pivotal roles in gene expression, cell fate specification, and various developmental processes. Human TZF (hTTP) binds AU-rich elements at the 3'UTR, and recruit decapping, deadenylation, and exonucleolytic enzymes to P-bodies for RNA turnover. Recent genetic studies indicate that plant TZFs are involved in gene regulation and hormone-mediated environmental responses. It is unknown if plant TZFs can bind RNA and be localized to P-bodies or stress granules. The Arabidopsis AtTZF1/AtCTH/AtC3H23 was identified as a sugar sensitive gene in a previous microarray study. It is characterized by a TZF motif that is distinct from the human TZF. Higher plants such as Arabidopsis and rice each have a gene family containing this unique TZF motif. Here we show that AtTZF1 can traffic between the nucleus and cytoplasmic foci. AtTZF1 co-localizes with markers of P-bodies, and the morphology of these cytoplasmic foci resembles that of mammalian P-bodies and stress granules. AtTZF1-associated cytoplasmic foci are dynamic and tissue-specific. They can be induced by dark and wound stresses, and are preferentially present in actively growing tissues and stomatal precursor cells. Since AtTZF1 can bind both DNA and RNA in vitro, it raises the possibility that AtTZF1 might be involved in DNA and/or RNA regulation.






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