Pumilio Homolog 2 (PUM2)

A DAZ homolog, DAZ-like (DAZL), is found in diverse organisms, including humans, and is required for germ cell development in males and/or females.

PUM2, a human homolog of Pumilio, a protein required to maintain germline stem cells in Drosophila and C. elegans, forms a stable complex with DAZ through the same functional domain required for RNA binding, protein-protein interactions, and rescue from Pumilio mutations in flies. PUM2 is expressed predominantly in human embryonic stem cells and germ cells and colocalizes with DAZ and DAZL in germ cells. These data implicated PUM2 as a component of conserved cellular machinery that may be required for germ cell development.