rik1 — Schizosaccharomyces pombe 972h-

Summary

SPCC11E10.08 (rik1) on chromosome 3 of Schizosaccharomyces pombe 972h- encodes a protein with nucleic acid binding activity, belonging to the WD40/YVTN repeat-like domain superfamily and containing domains characteristic of the RSE1/DDB1/CPSF1 family. Rik1 is associated with siRNA-mediated heterochromatin formation, RNAi-mediated heterochromatin assembly at centromeres, centromeric silencing, and silent mating-type cassette chromatin silencing. It is also linked to meiotic telomere tethering and clustering, centromere clustering, mating-type switching, gene conversion, donor selection, RNA surveillance, RNA breakdown, degradation of meiosis-specific transcripts, demethylation, and TC-NER. The gene product localizes to the CLRC complex, Cul4-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, Ddb1-Wdr21 and Ddb1-Ckn1 complexes, as well as centric, rDNA, subtelomeric, and mating-type region heterochromatin, the spindle pole body, and sites of double-strand breaks. Related genes in other species link the family to similar chromatin-associated processes.