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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Identification of Footprints of RNA:Protein Complexes via RNA Immunoprecipitation in Tandem Followed by Sequencing (RIPiT-Seq)
Published on: July 10, 2019
Reiterated WG/GW motifs form functionally and evolutionarily conserved ARGONAUTE-binding platforms in RNAi-related
Mahmoud El-Shami1, Dominique Pontier, Sylvie Lahmy
1Laboratoire Génome et Développement de Plantes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Institut de Recherche pour le Développement/Université de Perpignan 5096, 66860 Perpignan Cedex, France.
Abstract:
Two forms of RNA Polymerase IV (PolIVa/PolIVb) have been implicated in RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) in Arabidopsis. Prevailing models imply a distinct function for PolIVb by association of Argonaute4 (AGO4) with the C-terminal domain (CTD) of its largest subunit NRPD1b. Here we show that the extended CTD of NRPD1b-type proteins exhibits conserved Argonaute-binding capacity through a WG/GW-rich region that functionally distinguishes Pol IVb from Pol IVa, and that is essential for RdDM. Site-specific mutagenesis and domain-swapping experiments between AtNRPD1b and the human protein GW182 demonstrated that reiterated WG/GW motifs form evolutionarily and functionally conserved Argonaute-binding platforms in RNA interference (RNAi)-related components.
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