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First published online 26 May 2004
doi: 10.1242/dev.01170

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Xenopus Staufen is a component of a ribonucleoprotein complex containing Vg1 RNA and kinesin

Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: kimberly_mowry{at}brown.edu)

Accepted 15 March 2004

RNA localization is a key mechanism for generating cell and developmental polarity in a wide variety of organisms. We have performed studies to investigate a role for the Xenopus homolog of the double-stranded RNA-binding protein, Staufen, in RNA localization during oogenesis. We have found that Xenopus Staufen (XStau) is present in a ribonucleoprotein complex, and associates with both a kinesin motor protein and vegetally localized RNAs Vg1 and VegT. A functional role for XStau was revealed through expression of a dominant-negative version that blocks localization of Vg1 RNA in vivo. Our results suggest a central role for XStau in RNA localization in Xenopus oocytes, and provide evidence that Staufen is a conserved link between specific mRNAs and the RNA localization machinery.

Key words: RNA-binding protein, RNA localization, Polarity