title: The hermaphrodite sperm/oocyte switch requires the Caenorhabditis elegans homologs of PRP2 and PRP22.
abstract: Sex determination in the hermaphrodite germ line of Caenorhabditis elegans is controlled posttranscriptionally. The switch from spermatogenesis to oogenesis relies on regulation of the fem-3 sex-determining gene via a regulatory element in the fem-3 3' untranslated region. Previous work showed that at least six mog genes are required for repression by the fem-3 3' untranslated region, and that one of those genes, mog-1, encodes a DEAH-box protein. In this paper, we report the cloning of mog-4 and mog-5 and the finding that mog-4 and mog-5 also encode DEAH-box proteins. Our molecular identification of mog-4 and mog-5 relied on genetic mapping and transformation rescue and was confirmed by a missense mutation in each gene. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that the C. elegans MOG-1, MOG-4, and MOG-5 proteins are closely related to the yeast proteins PRP16, PRP2, and PRP22, respectively. In view of their effect on fem-3 regulation and their homology to PRP16, PRP2, and PRP22, we propose that MOG-1, MOG-4, and MOG-5 are required for posttranscriptional regulation, perhaps by modifying the conformation of ribonucleoprotein complexes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Wisconsin, 433 Babcock Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA. alessandro.puoti@unifr.ch
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Puoti
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kimble
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D020365:RNA Helicases; D000072260:RNA Splicing Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D000072260:RNA Splicing Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C066490:PRP2 protein, S cerevisiae; C067135:PRP22 protein, S cerevisiae; C406728:mog-4 protein, C elegans; C406729:mog-5 protein, C elegans; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D020365:RNA Helicases