The MEP-1 zinc-finger protein acts with MOG DEAH box proteins to control gene expression via the fem-3 3' untranslated region in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Cell fates in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline are regulated, at least in part, at the posttranscriptional level. For example, the switch from spermatogenesis to oogenesis in the hermaphrodite relies on posttranscriptional repression of the fem-3 mRNA via its 3' untranslated region (UTR). Previous studies identified three DEAH box proteins, MOG-1, MOG-4, and MOG-5, that are critical for the fem-3 3' UTR control. Here we describe MEP-1, a zinc-finger protein that binds specifically to each of these three MOG proteins and that is required for repression by the fem-3 3' UTR in vivo. To investigate its in vivo function, we generated a mep-1 deletion mutant. The mep-1 null phenotype suggests a broad role for MEP-1 in C. elegans development, as it is associated with early larval arrest. In addition, mep-1 mutants can be defective in gonadogenesis and oocyte production when derived from a heterozygous mother. We suggest that MEP-1 acts together with the MOG proteins to repress fem-3 mRNA and that it also functions in other pathways to control development more broadly.
Belfiore
Marco
M
Department of Zoology, University of Fribourg, Pérolles, Switzerland.
Mathies
Laura D
LD
Pugnale
Paolo
P
Moulder
Gary
G
Barstead
Robert
R
Kimble
Judith
J
Puoti
Alessandro
A
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D017931:DNA Primers; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D020043:Genes, Essential; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020365:RNA Helicases; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional; D000072260:RNA Splicing Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016335:Zinc Fingers
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D015801:Helminth Proteins; C459463:MEP-1 protein, C elegans; D000072260:RNA Splicing Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C075059:fem-3 protein, C elegans; C117883:mog-1 protein, C elegans; C406728:mog-4 protein, C elegans; C406729:mog-5 protein, C elegans; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D020365:RNA Helicases