RNA binding proteins, through control of mRNA fate and expression, are key players of organism development. The LARP family of RBPs sharing the La motif, are largely present in eukaryotes. They classify into five subfamilies which members acquired specific additional domains, including the RRM1 moiety which teams up with the La motif to form a versatile RNA binding unit. The LARP6 subfamily has had a peculiar history during plant evolution. While containing a single LARP6 in algae and non-vascular plants, they expanded and neofunctionalized into three subclusters in vascular plants. Studies from Arabidopsis thaliana, support that they acquired specific RNA binding properties and physiological roles. In particular LARP6C participates, through spatiotemporal control of translation, to male fertilization, a role seemingly conserved in maize. Interestingly, human LARP6 also acts in translation control and mRNA transport and similarly to LARP6C which is required for pollen tube guided elongation, is necessary to cell migration, through protrusion extension. This opens the possibility that some cellular and molecular functions of LARP6 were retained across eukaryote evolution. With their peculiar evolutionary history, plants provide a unique opportunity to uncover how La-module RNA binding properties evolved and identify species specific and basal roles of the LARP6 function. Deciphering of how LARP6, in particular LARP6C, acts at the molecular level, will foster novel knowledge on translation regulation and dynamics in changing cellular contexts. Considering the seemingly conserved function of LARP6C in male reproduction, it should fuel studies aimed at deriving crop species with improved seed yields.
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Cover Image
Cover Image
Long Terminal Repeat (LTR) retrotransposons replicate through “copy and paste” mechanisms mediated by reverse transcription in virus-like particles (VLPs) and integration in the nucleus (see article from Lee and Martienssen, pp. 2241–2251). VLP DNA-sequencing reveals complementary DNA (cDNA) replication intermediates from active retrotransposons. Instead of functional linear intermediates that integrate in the nucleus, the Arabidopsis retroelement SISYPHUS lacks features important for nuclear import, and instead accumulates circular cDNA from futile autointegration within the VLP. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned to the futile task of rolling a huge boulder uphill eternally. Image created and provided Seung Cho Lee, Evan Ernst, and Robert A. Martienssen.
LARP6 proteins in plants
Cécile Bousquet-Antonelli; LARP6 proteins in plants. Biochem Soc Trans 1 November 2021; 49 (5): 1975–1983. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20200715
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