Control of gcm RNA stability is necessary for proper glial cell fate acquisition.
The control of RNA stability is an important post-transcriptional event. While neural development is known to require proteins that bind AU-rich elements (ARE) and affect RNA half-life, the role of specific RNA stability in this process remains elusive. In the Drosophila embryo, glial fate acquisition is triggered by glial cells missing (gcm) master gene, which is transiently expressed in all gliogenic stem cells and submitted to tight transcriptional regulation. By using in vitro and in vivo site directed mutagenesis, we have discovered that gcm RNA is unstable and that its 3'UTR confers labile properties to RNA due to the presence of an ARE motif. Moreover, we show that the gliogenic potential of Gcm transcription factor increases when ARE is abolished and demonstrate the importance of gcm RNA stability in the acquisition of the glial fate. Thus, control of a single RNA half-life is crucial for nervous system differentiation.
Soustelle
Laurent
L
Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS/INSERM/ULP, B.P.10142, 67404 Illkirch Cedex, C.U. de Strasbourg, France.
Roy
Nivedita
N
Ragone
Gianluca
G
Giangrande
Angela
A
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics; D000241:Adenosine / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D020871:RNA Stability / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D014529:Uridine / Q000235:genetics
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C102805:GCM protein, Drosophila; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000241:Adenosine; D014529:Uridine