Studies on fungal Pumilio gene family through mining multiple genome-scale data sets.

The genes belonging to Pumilio gene family of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S. pombe) were compared with genome information of the several fungi and their functions have been inferred using public-access databases disclosed on the internet websites. The Pumilio-family genes are conserved from yeast to man and have been considered to suppress the expression of other genes by binding their specific target messenger RNAs. In S. pombe genome, nine genes belonging to Pumilio gene family were found and were clustered into four groups by homology of their amino acid sequences. Each gene has been analyzed to search 'close orthologue' in the genomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida parapsilosis, Aspergillus fumigatus, Phytophthora infestans, Pneumocystis carinii and Neurospora crassa, using protein-protein blast P search. Consequently, we found several genes belonging to Pumilio gene family in the genomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida parapsilosis, and Neurospora crassa. Evolution and function of these genes can be expected from the analysis based on the molecular phylogenies.