PNH — Lactuca sativa

Summary

LsPNH, on lettuce chromosome 2, encodes a protein with Argonaute, Piwi, PAZ and RNaseH-like domains, and is annotated with diverse molecular functions including dsRNA and siRNA binding, RNA endonuclease activity, and histone ubiquitin ligase and deubiquitinase activities. The gene is associated with miRNA and siRNA metabolic processes, gene silencing by miRNA, somatic stem cell population maintenance, cell fate commitment, and temporal regulation of development. It is linked to numerous traits including leaf morphology and polarity, flower and inflorescence development, vegetative growth time, photosynthetic ability, UV light sensitivity, virus resistance, seed dormancy and longevity, and responses to auxin and gibberellic acid. Studies of related genes in other species connect the family to leaf shape, floral organ development, shoot meristem organization, fruit yield, and heat tolerance.