Molecular cloning of a RNA binding protein, S1-1

S1 proteins A-D constitute a nuclear protein family that are liberated rapidly in a set from chromatin by mild digestion with a DNA or RNA hydrolyzing enzyme. With an anti-S1-protein B antiserum that reacted with B2, C1 and D1, a cDNA clone, pS1-1, was obtained, which encoded a protein of 852 amino acids. The S1-1 protein, encoded within the cells by a mRNA of 3480 nt, was a novel protein and could be distinguished from the S1 proteins B, C and D by their amino acid sequences. The S1-1 protein synthesized by in vitro translation bound to RNA homopolymers, with a preference for G and U polyribonucleotides and little for poly(A). The protein contained two tandem RNP motifs and several intriguing sequences, such as a novel repeat of five octamers with a consensus sequence DP-S(Q/G)YYY and a potentially perfect amphipathic alpha-helix of five turns with basic and acidic amino acids positioned in an ordered way. The two RNP motif sequences were similar, although homologies were low, to the RNP motif sequences of yeast NSR1 protein, animal nucleolins, Drosophila hnRNP Al and tobacco chloroplast RNP precursor protein, suggesting a functional uniqueness of the S1-1 protein in RNA metabolism and also the evolution of its RNP motif structure before plants and animals diverged. These results indicate that the S1-1 protein encoded by the cDNA is a new class of RNA binding protein.