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Staufen-mediated mRNA decay

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ141351456 ↗
Source-derived summary

Staufen-mediated mRNA decay (SMD) is a metabolic pathway that leads to degradation of specific mRNA transcripts mediated by Staufen protein. According to bioinformatic predictations, more than 1,000 mRNA transcripts could potentially be target by SMD. SMD occurs when SMD factors (like UPF1 and UPF2) bind to staufen in stem-loop elements of the 3'UTR.

SMD factors like UPF1 and UPF2 factors cleave the mRNAs bound to Staufen.

Discovery

Staufen was previously known to interact and transport mRNA into the cytoplasm in Drosophila melanogaster. This protein was also known to activate gene expression in Oskar gene once it is localized in Drosophila posterior pole. Staufen null mutants in Drosophila malanogaster are alive, but their embryos failed to develop living flies, therefore, the name comes after Staufen dynasty where all male offsprings died before reproducing.

However, the excact mechanisms used by Staufen to affect gene expression were unknown. Finally in 2005, Staufen-mediated mRNA decay was identified when a protein known to be involved in a similar metabolism (non-sense mediated mRNA decay) was bound to Staufen.

Mechanism

SMD occurs when staufen protein binds to an mRNA and recruits SMD factors (UPF1, UPF2) that degrade the RNA molecule bound to Staufen. SMD may involve gene expression in more than 1000 mRNA transcripts. SMD is reported to be a stepwise process: 1) two Staufen protein particles bind target mRNA by their double-stranded RNA binding domain (dsRBD) 3 and 4, 2) the two Staufen particles dimerizes by establishing non-covalent interactions between their Staufen-swapping motif (SSM) and dsRBD5 located in their C' termini, 3) this dimerized staufen complex is recognized by SMD factors (i.e.

Editorial summary

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Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2005, 1000—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Staufen-mediated, mRNA and decay.
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This entry incorporates text from “Staufen-mediated mRNA decay” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.