ELLI-1, a novel germline protein, modulates RNAi activity and P-granule accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Germ cells contain non-membrane bound cytoplasmic organelles that help maintain germline integrity. In C. elegans they are called P granules; without them, the germline undergoes partial masculinization and aberrant differentiation. One key P-granule component is the Argonaute CSR-1, a small-RNA binding protein that antagonizes accumulation of sperm-specific transcripts in developing oocytes and fine-tunes expression of proteins critical to early embryogenesis. Loss of CSR-1 complex components results in a very specific, enlarged P-granule phenotype. In a forward screen to identify mutants with abnormal P granules, ten alleles were recovered with a csr-1 P-granule phenotype, eight of which contain mutations in known components of the CSR-1 complex (csr-1, ego-1, ekl-1, and drh-3). The remaining two alleles are in a novel gene now called elli-1 (enlarged germline granules). ELLI-1 is first expressed in primordial germ cells during mid-embryogenesis, and continues to be expressed in the adult germline. While ELLI-1 forms cytoplasmic aggregates, they occasionally dock, but do not co-localize with P granules. Instead, the majority of ELLI-1 aggregates accumulate in the shared germline cytoplasm. In elli-1 mutants, several genes that promote RNAi and P-granule accumulation are upregulated, and embryonic lethality, sterility, and RNAi resistance in a hypomorphic drh-3 allele is enhanced, suggesting that ELLI-1 functions with CSR-1 to modulate RNAi activity, P-granule accumulation, and post-transcriptional expression in the germline.
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America.
Karolina M
KM
Andralojc
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America.
Anne C
0000-0003-2086-0246
AC
Campbell
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America.
Ashley L
AL
Kelly
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America.
Markus
0000-0002-7359-4810
M
Terrey
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America.
Paige C
PC
Tanner
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America.
Ian M
0000-0003-3827-6494
IM
Gans
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America.
Michael J
0000-0001-8099-3935
MJ
Senter-Zapata
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America.
Eraj S
0000-0002-0713-7099
ES
Khokhar
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America.
Dustin L
0000-0002-1745-3669
DL
Updike
D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000378:metabolism*; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009154:Mutation; D034622:RNA Interference; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D035165:Transcription Factors, General / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
C544459:CSR-1 protein, C elegans; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C000620003:ELLI-1 protein, C elegans; C529535:Ekl protein, c elegans; C114543:PGL-1 protein, C elegans; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D035165:Transcription Factors, General; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C524398:Drh-3 protein, C elegans; C406772:EGO-1 protein, C elegans; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases