Genome-wide analysis of GLD-1-mediated mRNA regulation suggests a role in mRNA storage.
Translational repression is often accompanied by mRNA degradation. In contrast, many mRNAs in germ cells and neurons are "stored" in the cytoplasm in a repressed but stable form. Unlike repression, the stabilization of these mRNAs is surprisingly little understood. A key player in Caenorhabditis elegans germ cell development is the STAR domain protein GLD-1. By genome-wide analysis of mRNA regulation in the germ line, we observed that GLD-1 has a widespread role in repressing translation but, importantly, also in stabilizing a sub-population of its mRNA targets. Additionally, these mRNAs appear to be stabilized by the DDX6-like RNA helicase CGH-1, which is a conserved component of germ granules and processing bodies. Because many GLD-1 and CGH-1 stabilized mRNAs encode factors important for the oocyte-to-embryo transition (OET), our findings suggest that the regulation by GLD-1 and CGH-1 serves two purposes. Firstly, GLD-1-dependent repression prevents precocious translation of OET-promoting mRNAs. Secondly, GLD-1- and CGH-1-dependent stabilization ensures that these mRNAs are sufficiently abundant for robust translation when activated during OET. In the absence of this protective mechanism, the accumulation of OET-promoting mRNAs, and consequently the oocyte-to-embryo transition, might be compromised.
Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland.
Claudia
C
Scheckel
Dimos
D
Gaidatzis
Jane E
JE
Wright
Rafal
R
Ciosk
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016678:Genome; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D009865:Oocytes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000235:genetics; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012316:RNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020871:RNA Stability; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D023121:RNA, Messenger, Stored / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C094448:GLD-1 protein, C elegans; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D023121:RNA, Messenger, Stored; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012316:RNA Nucleotidyltransferases; C490618:cgh-1 protein, C elegans