C. elegans CPB-3 interacts with DAZ-1 and functions in multiple steps of germline development.
Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding proteins (CPEBs) are well-conserved RNA-binding proteins, which regulate mRNA translation mainly through control of poly(A) elongation. Here, we show that CPB-3, one of the four CPEB homologs in C. elegans, positively regulates multiple aspects of oocyte production. CPB-3 protein was highly expressed in early meiotic regions of the hermaphrodite gonad. Worms deficient in cpb-3 were apparently impaired in germ cell proliferation and differentiation including sperm/oocyte switching and progression of female meiosis. We also show that cpb-3 is likely to promote the meiotic entry in parallel with gld-3, a component of one of the redundant but essential genetic pathways for the entry to and progression through meiosis. Taken together, CPEB appears to have a conserved role in the early phase of meiosis and in the sperm/oocyte specification, in addition to its reported function during meiotic progression.
Hasegawa
Eri
E
Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Karashima
Takeshi
T
Sumiyoshi
Eisuke
E
Yamamoto
Masayuki
M