NonO, a non-POU-domain-containing, octamer-binding protein, is the mammalian homolog of Drosophila nonAdiss

We have cloned the ubiquitous form of an octamer-binding, 60-kDa protein (NonO) that appears to be the mammalian equivalent of the Drosophila visual and courtship song behavior protein, no-on-transient A/dissonance (nonAdiss). A region unprecedently rich in aromatic amino acids containing two ribonuclear protein binding motifs is highly conserved between the two proteins. A ubiquitous form of NonO is present in all adult tissues, whereas lymphocytes and retina express unique forms of NonO mRNA. The ubiquitous form contains a potential helix-turn-helix motif followed by a highly charged region but differs from prototypic octamer-binding factors by lacking the POU DNA-binding domain. In addition to its conventional octamer duplex-binding, NonO binds single-stranded DNA and RNA at a site independent of the duplex site.