title: Translation repression by maternal RNA binding protein Zar1 is essential for early oogenesis in zebrafish.
abstract: A large amount of maternal RNA is deposited in oocytes and is reserved for later development. Control of maternal RNA translation during oocyte maturation has been extensively investigated and its regulatory mechanisms are well documented. However, translational regulation of maternal RNA in early oogenesis is largely unexplored. In this study, we generated zebrafish zar1 mutants that result in early oocyte apoptosis and fully penetrant male development. Loss of p53 suppresses the apoptosis in zar1 mutants and restores oocyte development. zar1 immature ovaries show upregulation of proteins implicated in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR). More importantly, loss of Zar1 causes marked upregulation of zona pellucida (ZP) family proteins, while overexpression of ZP proteins in oocytes causes upregulation of stress-related activating transcription factor 3 (atf3), arguing that tightly controlled translation of ZP proteins is essential for ER homeostasis during early oogenesis. Furthermore, Zar1 binds to ZP gene mRNAs and represses their translation. Together, our results indicate that regulation of translational repression and de-repression are essential for precisely controlling protein expression during early oogenesis.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.|Center for Life Sciences; School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China.|State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources, Kunming 650500, China.
authors.forename: Liyun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.|Center for Life Sciences; School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China.|State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources, Kunming 650500, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Junshun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Weirui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Xiahe
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Yingchun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Lingjuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Dahua
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China jianzhang84@genetics.ac.cn.|Center for Life Sciences; School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China.|State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources, Kunming 650500, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5867-9808
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000235:genetics; D004527:Egg Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008297:Male; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D023121:RNA, Messenger, Stored / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004527:Egg Proteins; D023121:RNA, Messenger, Stored; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins
keywords: Apoptosis; ER stress; Oogenesis; Sex differentiation; Translational control; Unfolded protein response; Zar1; Zebrafish; Zona pellucida; p53