InterPro domain: IPR036085

This domain superfamily is named after the proteins Piwi Argonaut and Zwille. It is also found in the CAF protein from Arabidopsis thaliana. The function of the domain is unknown but has been found in the middle region of a number of members of the Argonaute protein family, which also contain the Piwi domain ( IPR003165 ) in their C-terminal region [ 1 ]. Several members of this family have been implicated in the development and maintenance of stem cells through the RNA-mediated gene-quelling mechanisms associated with the protein DICER.

1. Identification of eight members of the Argonaute family in the human genome small star, filled. Genomics 82, 323-30