Ce-Y14 and MAG-1, components of the exon-exon junction complex, are required for embryogenesis and germline sexual switching in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Y14 is a component of the splicing-dependent exon-exon junction complex (EJC) and is involved in the mRNA quality control system called nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. It has recently been shown that together with another EJC component, Mago, the Drosophila homologue DmY14/Tsunagi is required for proper localization of oskar mRNA during oogenesis, a process critical for posterior formation in Drosophila development. Here we show that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans Ce-Y14 and MAG-1 (Mago homologue) are required for late embryogenesis and proper germline sexual differentiation. Like in other organisms, Ce-Y14 preferentially binds to spliced mRNA and specifically interacts with MAG-1. Consistent with the evolutionarily conserved interaction between Y14 and Mago homologues, suppression of Ce-Y14 by RNAi resulted in the same phenotypes as those caused by RNAi of mag-1 lethality during late embryogenesis and masculinization of the adult hermaphrodite germline. Our results demonstrate that the evolutionarily conserved interaction between two EJC components, Ce-Y14 and MAG-1, has critical developmental roles in C. elegans.
Kawano
Taizo
T
Department of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nadaku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.
Kataoka
Naoyuki
N
Dreyfuss
Gideon
G
Sakamoto
Hiroshi
H
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D012326:RNA Splicing / Q000502:physiology*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C406243:RBM8A protein, human; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012313:RNA