The BACK domain in BTB-kelch proteins.

A novel conserved motif--the BACK (for BTB and C-terminal Kelch) domain--is found in the majority of proteins that contain both the BTB domain and kelch repeats. Many kelch-repeat proteins are involved in organization of the cytoskeleton via interaction with actin and intermediate filaments, whereas BTB domains have multiple cellular roles, including recruitment to E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes. The identification of the BACK domain in BTB and kelch proteins, and its high conservation across metazoan genomes, suggest an important function for this domain with a possible role in substrate orientation in Cullin3-based E3 ligase complexes.