In this publication, Rita Fernandes and colleagues from the Kehr group focused on a ribosome biogenesis factor (RBF) from A. thaliana that they named NUCLEOLAR RNA CHAPERONE‑LIKE 1 (NURC1). They localized NURC1 in the nucleolus of plant cell nuclei, co-localizing with other plant RBF candidates. It has an elongated and flexible structure and was present in its monomeric form with a molecular weight of around 28 kDa. NURC1 showed binding activity to the Arabidopsis internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of the polycistronic pre‑rRNA precursor – containing the 5.8S, 18S, and 25S rRNA; it exhibited RNA chaperone‑like activity. Data suggested that NURC1 may have a function in pre‑rRNA processing and thus ribosome biogenesis.
Read the abstract or download the full publication.
Figure 1. NURC1 and other plant RBFs are localized in the nucleolus. Subcellular localization of GFP-tagged NURC1, At5g05210 and EBP2 (At3g22660) transiently co-expressed with the nuclear marker MAIL1-mCherry in N. benthamiana leaf cells. Fluorescence of the respective fusion proteins was analyzed by using confocal microscopy. The merged pictures indicated the localization of all GFP fusion proteins in the nucleolus.
