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First published online 16 April 2008
doi: 10.1242/dev.013656

Development 135, 1803-1812 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
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Multiple maternal proteins coordinate to restrict the translation of C. elegans nanos-2 to primordial germ cells

Shreyas Jadhav, Mainpal Rana and Kuppuswamy Subramaniam*

Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016, India.

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: subbu{at}iitk.ac.in)

Accepted 18 March 2008

Although germ cell formation has been relatively well understood in worms and insects, how germ cell-specific developmental programs are initiated is not clear. In Caenorhabditis elegans, translational activation of maternal nos-2 mRNA is the earliest known molecular event specific to the germline founder cell P4. Cis-elements in nos-2 3'UTR have been shown to mediate translational control; however, the trans-acting proteins are not known. Here, we provide evidence that four maternal RNA-binding proteins, OMA-1, OMA-2, MEX-3 and SPN-4, bind nos-2 3'UTR to suppress its translation, and POS-1, another maternal RNA-binding protein, relieves this suppression in P4. The POS-1: SPN-4 ratio in P4 increases significantly over its precursor, P3; and POS-1 competes with SPN-4 for binding to nos-2 RNA in vitro. We propose temporal changes in the relative concentrations of POS-1 and SPN-4, through their effect on the translational status of maternal mRNAs such as nos-2, initiate germ cell-specific developmental programs in C. elegans.

Key words: Caenorhabditis elegans, Translational control, RNA-binding protein, 3'UTR, Germ cells, Nanos


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Protection of specific maternal messenger RNAs by the P body protein CGH-1 (Dhh1/RCK) during Caenorhabditis elegans oogenesis
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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