Family CSD

Cold shock domains (CSD) are proteins that help acclimate cells to colder growth conditions. The CSD is among the most ancient and well conserved nucleic acid binding domains, shown in prokaryotes, higher plants, and animals. Plant CSD homologues typically contain two distinct nucleic acid-binding modules, a single N-terminal CSD and variable quantities of C-terminal CCHC zinc fingers, which are interspersed by glycine-rich regions, and have been shown to bind ssDNA, dsDNA, and ssRNA. Members have been shown to function as RNA chaperones that facilitate translation at lower temperatures by preventing the secondary structure formation that can occur in mRNA at lower temperatures. Wheat cold shock protein 1 (WCSP1) has been shown to suppress transcription termination at low temperatures, as well as melt DNA to ensure efficient transcription at low temperatures (PMID:16788067; PMID:20060550).