RNA recognition motif 3 (RRM3) found in Mei2-like proteins and terminal EAR1-like proteins
This subfamily corresponds to the RRM3 of Mei2-like proteins from plant and fungi, terminal EAR1-like proteins from plant, and other eukaryotic homologs. Mei2-like proteins represent an ancient eukaryotic RNA-binding proteins family whose corresponding Mei2-like genes appear to have arisen early in eukaryote evolution, been lost from some lineages such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and metazoans, and diversified in the plant lineage. The plant Mei2-like genes may function in cell fate specification during development, rather than as stimulators of meiosis. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the Mei2 protein is an essential component of the switch from mitotic to meiotic growth. S. pombe Mei2 stimulates meiosis in the nucleus upon binding a specific non-coding RNA. The terminal EAR1-like protein 1 and 2 (TEL1 and TEL2) are mainly found in land plants. They may play a role in the regulation of leaf initiation. All members in this family are putative RNA-binding proteins carrying three RNA recognition motifs (RRMs), also termed RBDs (RNA binding domains) or RNPs (ribonucleoprotein domains). In addition to the RRMs, the terminal EAR1-like proteins also contain TEL characteristic motifs that allow sequence and putative functional discrimination between them and Mei2-like proteins.