The MTERF family is a wide protein family, identified in Metazoa and plants, which consists of 4 subfamilies named MTERF1–4. Proteins belonging to this family are localized in mitochondria and show a modular architecture based on repetitions of a 30 amino acid module, the mTERF motif, containing leucine zipper-like heptads. The MTERF family includes the characterized transcription termination factors human mTERF, sea urchin mtDBP and Drosophila DmTTF. In vitro and in vivo studies show that these factors play different roles which are not restricted to transcription termination, but concern also transcription initiation and the control of mtDNA replication. The multiplicity of functions could be related to the differences in the gene organization of the mitochondrial genomes. Studies on the function of human and Drosophila MTERF3 factor showed that the protein acts as negative regulator of mitochondrial transcription, possibly in cooperation with other still unknown factors. The complete elucidation of the role of the MTERF family members will contribute to the unraveling of the molecular mechanisms of mtDNA transcription and replication.
The MTERF family proteins: mitochondrial transcription regulators and beyond
ROBERTI, Marina;LOGUERCIO POLOSA, Paola Anna Maria;BRUNI, FRANCESCO;CANTATORE, Palmiro
2009-01-01
Abstract
The MTERF family is a wide protein family, identified in Metazoa and plants, which consists of 4 subfamilies named MTERF1–4. Proteins belonging to this family are localized in mitochondria and show a modular architecture based on repetitions of a 30 amino acid module, the mTERF motif, containing leucine zipper-like heptads. The MTERF family includes the characterized transcription termination factors human mTERF, sea urchin mtDBP and Drosophila DmTTF. In vitro and in vivo studies show that these factors play different roles which are not restricted to transcription termination, but concern also transcription initiation and the control of mtDNA replication. The multiplicity of functions could be related to the differences in the gene organization of the mitochondrial genomes. Studies on the function of human and Drosophila MTERF3 factor showed that the protein acts as negative regulator of mitochondrial transcription, possibly in cooperation with other still unknown factors. The complete elucidation of the role of the MTERF family members will contribute to the unraveling of the molecular mechanisms of mtDNA transcription and replication.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
2009 The MTERF family protein BBA.pdf
accesso aperto
Descrizione: Articolo principale
Tipologia:
Documento in Post-print
Licenza:
Creative commons
Dimensione
1.15 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
1.15 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.