Developmental expression of FOG-1/CPEB protein and its control in the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite germ line.
The specification of a germ cell as sperm or oocyte and determination of cell number remain unsolved questions in developmental biology. This paper examines Caenorhabditis elegans FOG-1, a CPEB-related RNA-binding protein that controls the sperm fate. We find that abundant FOG-1 protein is observed transiently in germ cells just prior to their expression of an early sperm-differentiation marker. As the germline tissue elongates, abundant FOG-1 appears more and more distally as sperm become specified, but disappears when the germ line switches to oogenesis. This dynamic pattern is controlled by both globally acting and germline-specific sex-determining regulators. Importantly, the extent of FOG-1 expression corresponds roughly to sperm number in wild-type and mutants, altering sperm number. By contrast, three other key regulators of the sperm/oocyte decision do not similarly correspond to sperm number. We suggest that FOG-1 is precisely modulated in both time and space to specify sperm fate and control sperm number.
Lamont
Liana B
LB
Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1544, USA.
Kimble
Judith
J
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009154:Mutation; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C403465:FOG-3 protein, C elegans; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C498431:fog-1 protein, C elegans