PUF proteins regulate both stability and translation through sequence‐specific binding to the 3′ UTR of target mRNA transcripts. Binding is mediated by a conserved PUF domain, which contains eight repeats of approximately 36 amino acids each. Found in all eukaryotes, they have been related to several developmental processes. Analysis of the 25 Arabidopsis Pumilio (APUM) proteins presenting PUF repeats reveals that 12 (APUM‐1 to APUM‐12) have a PUF domain with 50–75% similarity to the Drosophila PUF domain. Through three‐hybrid assays, we show that APUM‐1 to APUM‐6 can bind specifically to the Nanos response element sequence recognized by Drosophila Pumilio. Using an Arabidopsis RNA library in a three‐hybrid screening, we were able to identify an APUM‐binding consensus sequence. Computational analysis allowed us to identify the APUM‐binding element within the 3′ UTR in many Arabidopsis transcripts, even in important mRNAs related to shoot stem cell maintenance. We demonstrate that APUM‐1 to APUM‐6 are able to bind specifically to APUM‐binding elements in the 3′ UTR of WUSCHEL, CLAVATA‐1, PINHEAD/ZWILLE and FASCIATA‐2 transcripts. The results obtained in the present study indicate that the APUM proteins may act as regulators in Arabidopsis through an evolutionarily conserved mechanism, which may open up a new approach for investigating mRNA regulation in plants.
In this work we describe and discuss the use of semiconductor massively parallel sequencing to analyze 32 STRs present on the autosomes and sex chromosomes in cell-free fetal DNA present in maternal circulation. To date we have processed more than 180 tests as routine casework. Cases involving the confirmation of paternity in which no genetic discrepancies were observed and where the paternal alleles were clearly evident in the fetal DNA always resulted in paternity indices > 1000.
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