title: The Stress Granule RNA-Binding Protein TIAR-1 Protects Female Germ Cells from Heat Shock in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: In response to stressful conditions, eukaryotic cells launch an arsenal of regulatory programs to protect the proteome. One major protective response involves the arrest of protein translation and the formation of stress granules, cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein complexes containing the conserved RNA-binding proteins TIA-1 and TIAR. The stress granule response is thought to preserve mRNA for translation when conditions improve. For cells of the germline-the immortal cell lineage required for sexual reproduction-protection from stress is critically important for perpetuation of the species, yet how stress granule regulatory mechanisms are deployed in animal reproduction is incompletely understood. Here, we show that the stress granule protein TIAR-1 protects the Caenorhabditis elegans germline from the adverse effects of heat shock. Animals containing strong loss-of-function mutations in tiar-1 exhibit significantly reduced fertility compared to the wild type following heat shock. Analysis of a heat-shock protein promoter indicates that tiar-1 mutants display an impaired heat-shock response. We observed that TIAR-1 was associated with granules in the gonad core and oocytes during several stressful conditions. Both gonad core and oocyte granules are dynamic structures that depend on translation; protein synthesis inhibitors altered their formation. Nonetheless, tiar-1 was required for the formation of gonad core granules only. Interestingly, the gonad core granules did not seem to be needed for the germ cells to develop viable embryos after heat shock. This suggests that TIAR-1 is able to protect the germline from heat stress independently of these structures.
authors: Departamento de Biología Celular y Desarrollo, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico.
authors: Gabriela
authors: G
authors: Huelgas-Morales
authors: Departamento de Biología Celular y Desarrollo, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico.
authors: Carlos Giovanni
authors: CG
authors: Silva-García
authors: Departamento de Biología Celular y Desarrollo, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico.
authors: Laura S
authors: LS
authors: Salinas
authors: Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, 55455 Minnesota green959@umn.edu rnavarro@ifc.unam.mx.
authors: David
authors: 0000-0001-8189-2087
authors: D
authors: Greenstein
authors: Departamento de Biología Celular y Desarrollo, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico. green959@umn.edu rnavarro@ifc.unam.mx.
authors: Rosa E
authors: 0000-0003-4992-4450
authors: RE
authors: Navarro
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000378:metabolism*; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D005804:Genes, Lethal; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D006066:Gonads / Q000378:metabolism; D018869:Heat-Shock Response / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation; D009630:Nondisjunction, Genetic; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014960:X Chromosome
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C588003:TIAR-1 protein, C elegans
keywords: C. elegans; TIA-1/TIAR; germ cells; stress; stress granules