Genome-wide analysis of GLD-1-mediated mRNA regulation suggests a role in mRNA storage.
PLoS Genet, 2012/5;8(5):e1002742.
Scheckel C[1], Gaidatzis D, Wright JE, Ciosk R
Affiliations
PMID: 22693456DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002742
Impact factor: 6.02
Abstract
Translational repression is often accompanied by mRNA degradation. In contrast, many mRNAs in germ cells and neurons are "stored" in the cytoplasm in a repressed but stable form. Unlike repression, the stabilization of these mRNAs is surprisingly little understood. A key player in Caenorhabditis elegans germ cell development is the STAR domain protein GLD-1. By genome-wide analysis of mRNA regulation in the germ line, we observed that GLD-1 has a widespread role in repressing translation but, importantly, also in stabilizing a sub-population of its mRNA targets. Additionally, these mRNAs appear to be stabilized by the DDX6-like RNA helicase CGH-1, which is a conserved component of germ granules and processing bodies. Because many GLD-1 and CGH-1 stabilized mRNAs encode factors important for the oocyte-to-embryo transition (OET), our findings suggest that the regulation by GLD-1 and CGH-1 serves two purposes. Firstly, GLD-1-dependent repression prevents precocious translation of OET-promoting mRNAs. Secondly, GLD-1- and CGH-1-dependent stabilization ensures that these mRNAs are sufficiently abundant for robust translation when activated during OET. In the absence of this protective mechanism, the accumulation of OET-promoting mRNAs, and consequently the oocyte-to-embryo transition, might be compromised.
MeSH terms
Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Cytoplasmic Granules; Genome; Germ Cells; Oocytes; Protein Binding; Protein Biosynthesis; RNA Nucleotidyltransferases; RNA Stability; RNA, Messenger; RNA, Messenger, Stored; RNA-Binding Proteins
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