title: Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5B activity regulates larval growth rate and germline development in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: In C. elegans, a population of proliferating germ cells is maintained via GLP-1/Notch signaling; in the absence of GLP-1 signaling, germ cells prematurely enter meiosis and differentiate. We previously identified ego (enhancer of glp-1) genes that promote germline proliferation and interact genetically with the GLP-1 signaling pathway. Here, we report that iffb-1 (initiation factor five B) is an ego gene. iffb-1 encodes the sole C. elegans isoform of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5B, a protein essential for translation. We have used RNA interference and a deletion mutation to determine the developmental consequences of reduced iffb-1 activity. Our data indicate that maternal iffb-1 gene expression is sufficient for embryogenesis, and zygotic iffb-1 expression is required for development beyond late L1/early L2 stage. Partial reduction in iffb-1 expression delays larval development and can severely disrupt proliferation and differentiation of germ cells. We hypothesize that germline development is particularly sensitive to iffb-1 expression level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, USA.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Valarie E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Vought
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Conradt
authors.forename: Eleanor M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Maine
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003062:Codon; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D039642:Eukaryotic Initiation Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D005091:Exons; D017353:Gene Deletion; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D034622:RNA Interference; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000378:metabolism; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D003062:Codon; D039642:Eukaryotic Initiation Factors; C060620:Glp-1 protein, C elegans; C492704:IFF-1 protein, C elegans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D051880:Receptors, Notch; C451459:eukaryotic initiation factor-5B