Hfq protein
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The Hfq protein was discovered in 1968 as an E. coli host factor that was essential for replication of the bacteriophage Qβ.[1] It is found to be involved in a variety of RNA modification processes. It has been shown that Hfq targets mRNA transcripts for degradation. The protein is related to the Sm proteins found in the spliceosome. Six copies of the Hfq protein form a hexagonal ring.[2] A number of small bacterial RNAs have been shown to bind to Hfq:[3]
Most of these RNAs share a similar structure composed of three stem-loops.
References
- ↑ August JT, Eoyang L, De Fernandez MT; et al. (1970). "Phage-specific and host proteins in the replication of bacteriophage RNA". Fed. Proc. 29 (3): 1170–5. PMID 4315363.
- ↑ Sauter C, Basquin J, Suck D (2003). "Sm-like proteins in Eubacteria: the crystal structure of the Hfq protein from Escherichia coli". Nucleic Acids Res. 31 (14): 4091–8. PMID 12853626.
- ↑ Zhang A, Wassarman KM, Rosenow C, Tjaden BC, Storz G, Gottesman S (2003). "Global analysis of small RNA and mRNA targets of Hfq". Mol. Microbiol. 50 (4): 1111–24. PMID 14622403.