Signal Recognition Particle 14kDa (SRP14)

The signal recognition particle (SRP) is a ribonucleoprotein complex that mediates the targeting of proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The proteins are bound to the 7S RNA as monomers (SRP19 and SRP54) or heterodimers (SRP9/SRP14 and SRP68/SRP72). SRP9 and SRP14 constitute the Alu domain of 7S, whereas the other 4 proteins belong to the S domain. SRP has at least 3 distinct functions that can be associated with the protein subunits: signal recognition, translational arrest, and ER membrane targeting by interaction with the docking protein.The predicted amino acid sequence was found to be approximately 90% similar to the mouse homolog. The human sequence is longer at the C terminus and the predicted protein is 18 kD rather than 14 kD.