DEAD Box Polypeptide 31 (DDX31)

DDX31 is a member of the DEAD box family of proteins that possesses several conserved motifs which include the highly conserved DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) amino acid sequence motif. The major activity of DEAD box proteins is to function as ATP-dependent RNA helicases. As helicases, DEAD proteins play an important role in all aspects of RNA metabolism and function which include pre-mRNA splicing, RNA synthesis, RNA degradation, RNA export, RNA translation, RNA secondary structure formation, ribosome biogenesis, and the assembly of RNP complexes.The function of DDX31 has not been determined. Alternate names for DDX31 include probable ATP-dependent RNA helicase DDX31, DEAD box protein 31, helicain, helicain A, helicain B, helicain C, FLJ13633, FLJ14578, and FLJ23349.