Characteristics and evolution of the PUF gene family in Bombyx mori and 27 other species.

The Pumilio protein is the founding member of the PUF family of RNA-binding proteins, which contains 8 repeat Puf domains and plays important roles during embryogenesis and post-embryogenesis by binding the Nanos response element (NRE) of specific target genes in eukaryotes. In addition, many other proteins containing the Puf domain were identified but with different functions from the Pumilio protein in various species. Taking advantage of the newly assembled genome sequences, in this study we performed a genome-wide analysis of PUF genes in silkworm and other 27 species. In the silkworm, three PUF genes were identified, named Bmpumilio, Bmpenguin and Bmnop by homology analysis. In fungi and animals, four evolutionarily conservational PUF gene families were identified, Group-A, -B, -C and -D. While Group-A, -C, and -D are present in all fungi and animals, Group-B was only identified in fungi. Interestingly, the number and features of the Puf domains are distinct in each group, suggesting different roles for these proteins in every group. The EST and microarray data showed that the mRNA of the three PUF genes can be widely detected in all tissues of the silkworm. Our results provide some new insights into the functions and evolutionary characteristics of PUF proteins.