title: P granules extend the nuclear pore complex environment in the C. elegans germ line.
abstract: The immortal and totipotent properties of the germ line depend on determinants within the germ plasm. A common characteristic of germ plasm across phyla is the presence of germ granules, including P granules in Caenorhabditis elegans, which are typically associated with the nuclear periphery. In C. elegans, nuclear pore complex (NPC)-like FG repeat domains are found in the VASA-related P-granule proteins GLH-1, GLH-2, and GLH-4 and other P-granule components. We demonstrate that P granules, like NPCs, are held together by weak hydrophobic interactions and establish a size-exclusion barrier. Our analysis of intestine-expressed proteins revealed that GLH-1 and its FG domain are not sufficient to form granules, but require factors like PGL-1 to nucleate the localized concentration of GLH proteins. GLH-1 is necessary but not sufficient for the perinuclear location of granules in the intestine. Our results suggest that P granules extend the NPC environment in the germ line and provide insights into the roles of the PGL and GLH family proteins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
authors.forename: Dustin L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Updike
authors.forename: Stephanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hachey
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kreher
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strome
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000378:metabolism*; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C114543:PGL-1 protein, C elegans; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C524497:GLH-1 protein, C elegans; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases