We have isolated cDNAs from maize (ZGB1) and Arabidopsis (AGB1) encoding proteins homologous to beta subunits of guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G protein). The predicted ZGB1 and AGB1 gene products are 76% identical to each other and 41% or more identical to animal G protein beta subunits. Both predicted proteins contain seven repeats of the so-called "WD-40" motif, where WD is Trp-Asp. RN...

For most proteins of the eukaryotic cytosol, the folding pathways are still largely a mystery, even though many cytosolic chaperones have been identified, including multiple members of the heat shock protein (Hsp) 70 family, Hsp90 and the chaperonin, CCT/TRiC. Particularly puzzling has been the role of CCT, a distant cousin of the prokaryotic chaperonin GroEL, found in eukaryotes and archea. Gr...

For most proteins of the eukaryotic cytosol, the folding pathways are still largely a mystery, even though many cytosolic chaperones have been identified, including multiple members of the heat shock protein (Hsp) 70 family, Hsp90 and the chaperonin, CCT/TRiC. Particularly puzzling has been the role of CCT, a distant cousin of the prokaryotic chaperonin GroEL, found in eukaryotes and archea. Gr...

F-box proteins are an expanding family of eukaryotic proteins characterized by an approximately 40 aminoacid motif, the F box (so named because cyclin F was one of the first proteins in which this motif was identified) [1]. Some F-box proteins have been shown to be critical for the controlled degradation of cellular regulatory proteins [2] [3]. In fact, F-box proteins are one of the four subuni...

Extra sex combs (esc) is one of the Polycomb Group genes, whose products are required for long term maintenance of the spatially restricted domains of homeotic gene expression initially established by the products of the segmentation genes. We recently showed that the esc protein contains five copies of the WD motif, which in other proteins has been directly implicated in protein-protein intera...

beta-propeller domains composed of WD repeats are highly ubiquitous and typically used as multi-site docking platforms to coordinate and integrate the activities of groups of proteins. Here, we have used extensive homology modelling of the WD40-repeat family of seven-bladed beta-propellers coupled with subsequent structural classification and clustering of these models to define subfamilies of ...

Protein containing WD-repeats participate in a wide range of cellular functions, they are generally involved in regulatory mechanisms concerning chromatin assembly, cell cycle control, signal transduction, RNA processing, apoptosis and vesicular trafficking. lethal(2)denticleless is a recently identified novel class of Protein containing WD-repeats. Bioinformatic analysis has shown conservation...