Chromatin silencing and the maintenance of a functional germline in Caenorhabditis elegans.
The germline of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits a remarkable ability to specifically silence transgenic DNA. We have shown that this silencing mechanism is disrupted in animals mutant for the maternal effect sterile genes mes-2, mes-3, mes-4 and mes-6. The proteins encoded by mes-2 and mes-6 have been shown to be related to the Polycomb Group of transcriptional repressors (Holdeman, R., Nehrt, S. and Strome, S. (1998). Development 125, 2457-2467; Korf, I., Fan, F. and Strome, S. (1998). Development 125, 2469-2478). These results suggest that a genetic silencing process is essential for sustained germline function, and that this silencing is mediated, at least in part, by Polycomb Group proteins.
Kelly
W G
WG
Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Baltimore, MD 21210, USA.
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D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics*; D002843:Chromatin / Q000502:physiology*; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000235:genetics; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000235:genetics; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D015053:Zygote / Q000502:physiology
D002843:Chromatin; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins