InterPro domain: IPR037432

This entry represents the DEDDy domain found in Caenorhabditis elegans mut-7 and similar proteins found in metazoans. Mut-7 is implicated in posttranscriptional gene silencing [ 1 ]. It contains a DEDDy-type DnaQ-like 3'-5' exonuclease domain possessing three conserved sequence motifs, termed ExoI, ExoII and ExoIII, with a specific YX(3)D pattern at ExoIII. These motifs are clustered around the active site and contain four conserved acidic residues that serve as ligands for the two metal ions required for catalysis [ 2 ].

1. Mut-7 of C. elegans, required for transposon silencing and RNA interference, is a homolog of Werner syndrome helicase and RNaseD. Cell 99, 133-41
2. Exoribonuclease superfamilies: structural analysis and phylogenetic distribution. Nucleic Acids Res. 29, 1017-26